The Millennium Tournament
by Count Morningstar
Summary: Part 3 of the Devil Numbers Trilogy. Yuma and Astral reunite to take part in a massive tournament to fight their newest enemies, the Barian Death Queens. As the tournament rages on though, the duo soon find that their enemies have ties to the beginning of Duel Monsters itself. Rated M for various steamy scenes.
1. Prelude to War

**Introduction:** One thing I've noticed when I do trilogies like these is that I start out knowing what I want to do for the first two stories, but it takes me a long time to figure out what to do for the third. That was what I was like for this trilogy too. At first I was thinking of doing some kind of convoluted time travel-filled story, but then I just decided to keep it simple and do some kind of tournament. I'm going to say right now that this will be the longest story of this entire trilogy, but it should be an epic ride.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.

* * *

Chapter 1: Prelude to War

It was a little before 9:00 PM as Yuma Tsukumo sat on the floor of his room with several Duel Monsters cards spread out in front of him. Yuma was not alone in his room though. Floating in the air across from him was a humanoid entity that looked to be made out of blue light. He had golden eyes and strange markings on parts of his body. This being was Astral, the Envoy of Astral World and one of Yuma's closest friends. Both Yuma and Astral had been staring at the cards that had been spread across the floor for hours trying to figure out the best way to use them for a deck.

"I think we're getting close to having a good deck." Yuma told Astral. "I'm not sure about the Extra Deck though."

"If it is not satisfactory, we have plenty of Xyz Monsters to choose from." Astral pointed out.

"Oh yeah. It's pretty handy that we have all your Numbers to choose from now." Yuma replied. "I do feel kinda bad about borrowing them though."

"Yuma, this deck we are building is the deck we will be using together to prevail in the Millennium Tournament." Astral reminded him. "It only makes sense for us to use every card at our disposal."

"Good point." Yuma replied. "I just hope that whatever deck we come up with will be good enough to go up against the duelists we'll be up against in the Millennium Tournament. Some of the best duelists around will be competing in it."

"Do not forget, Yuma that the reason we're entering the tournament is to face the Barian Death Queens." Astral reminded him. "Alnia assured us that it would be the stage for our final battle with them."

At this, Yuma fell completely silent and returned his attention to the cards spread out before him. While he was looking forward to the tournament, he had not forgotten the real reason he and Astral had entered it. Several days, Yuma had encountered a new group of enemies known as the Barian Death Queens, three powerful Barians who claimed that they were accidentally created by Astral's old nemesis, Don Thousand, and their goal was to steal the Numeron Code from Astral for some terrible purpose. The first member of this group Yuma encountered, Anitak had tried to destroy the former Barian Emperors to try and make Yuma more vulnerable. And only five days before, the second member of this triad, Mitaka had tried to get the code by placing a curse on Yuma and Astral. Immediately after that incident, the leader of the Death Queens, Alnia, had challenged Yuma and Astral to one final battle using the tournament as the stage.

"…Don't worry. We'll beat Alnia and the other Death Queens." Yuma assured Astral after a moment. "That's 'cause when the two of us work together, there's practically nothing we can't do."

"I have no doubt that we will." Astral replied with a smile. "Now, let's get back to it, shall we?"

* * *

Twenty-two-year-old Sousuke Yoshina walked through the streets of Heartland as discreetly as possible. It was hard for him to walk out in public without being noticed, as he was something of a celebrity. Practically everyone in the region knew Sousuke as the star of the hit superhero series, Kamen Fighter X. The only thing concealing Sousuke's identity at that moment was a pair of dark glasses, a black baseball cap and a green hooded sweatshirt. It was a fairly simple disguise, but it had proven many times to be enough to keep the public from swarming around him like a school of ravenous piranha.

It was only on these little nighttime outings when Sousuke had time to himself, when he could simply blend into the crowd and pretend for a few brief hours that he was simply a normal person. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy being a celebrity idol, but the lifestyle did prove tiring at times. Eventually Sousuke came to his favorite bridge in Heartland and leaned against the railing to look out at the dazzling lights of the city. He had always found that view to be relaxing. When the celebrity idol glanced to his left, he noticed a young woman leaning on the railing and looking out at the same view.

The young woman looked to be about nineteen and had long wavy white hair that ended half way down her back. Her skin was tan and she had on a black leather vest with a red t-shirt and very short torn jean shorts that did a good job of showing off her legs. She also had on a pair of black fingerless gloves and red sneakers. Sousuke couldn't help but notice the girl's stunning figure. He had always been a sucker for the ladies, and this girl was no exception. Sousuke decided to go over and introduce himself.

"Excuse me, Ms." Sousuke spoke in a suave manner. "Are you here alone?"

As soon as the young woman looked at him, Sousuke got a good look at her eyes. Her right eye was gold while her left eye was red. Sousuke quickly forgot about her eyes though when he noticed how much cleavage her low-cut t-shirt showed off.

"Yeah, I'm alone." The young woman answered. "What business is it of yours?"

"I just thought you might like some company." Sousuke answered. "And it is pretty dangerous for a pretty girl like you to be out all alone on a night like this. Some jerks might try and have there way with you."

"Please, as if you pathetic humans could do any harm to me." The young woman scoffed. "If anyone was foolish to try, I simply burn them to cinders."

"Okay…" Sousuke responded with a quirked brow. He was starting to wonder if the young woman was playing with a full deck. "Uh, I'm Sousuke. Mind telling me your name?"

The young woman looked back out towards the city. "…Alnia."

"Alnia. That's an interesting name." Sousuke remarked. "Kinda pretty though."

Suddenly fireworks began to go off over the city. One of the buildings then began to project a large hologram of a golden upside-down pyramid with an odd eye-like symbol on the front into the night sky.

"Attention one and all!" a voice spoke over an intercom. "There's only one day left before the announcement of the players for the Millennium Tournament. If you'd still like a shot to participate, please register as soon as possible. Tomorrow's the last day to enter, so be quick!"

With that, the hologram completely vanished. A moment of silence passed between Sousuke and Alnia.

"…So, you excited about the Millennium Tournament?" Sousuke asked. "As a matter of fact, I entered it myself. Don't know if I'll be picked to participate though. That tournament has some pretty high standards. But then I guess that's to be expected of a tournament honoring the great Yugi Muto, one of the first and greatest champions of Duel Monsters."

"So that's how he's remembered, huh?" Alnia asked, not once looking at Sousuke. "Even in this day and age, that damn pharaoh is still practically considered to be a god. If only the stupid people of this time knew of the blood that stained his hands and the hands of his whole damn line!"

As Alnia spoke these words, Sousuke couldn't help but notice a deep hatred burning in her eyes. It was almost as though she wanted to murder someone.

"Uh, did I say something wrong?" Sousuke asked.

Alnia finally turned back to Sousuke and examined him closely. Before Sousuke could react, she removed his dark glasses, revealing his striking blue eyes.

"You're Sousuke Yoshina, that celebrity." Alnia identified.

"Oh, so you're a fan I take it." Sousuke replied, perfectly maintaining his cool.

"Not really. This friend of mine sometimes goes on about what a hunk you are." Alnia replied. "I have heard though that you're supposed to be a pretty good duelist."

"Well I don't mean to brag, but I have made it to the top of a few small tournaments." Sousuke admitted. "I'd probably be dueling professionally if I wasn't such a good actor."

"I'm actually pretty interested in strong duelists." Alnia responded. "How 'bout you take me over to your place tonight? I'm sure you and I would have a lot to talk about."

"I thought you'd never ask." Sousuke replied.

A few minutes later, the two of them were at Sousuke's penthouse apartment. It was at the top of one of the tallest buildings in Heartland and gave a good view of the city below. Once they two of them were inside, Sousuke removed his sweatshirt and hat.

"Nice place, huh?" Sousuke asked as Alnia looked around. "Can I get you something to drink?"

"I'm not really in a drinking mood." Alnia replied as she removed her vest and tossed it to the floor. "In fact I'm not really in the mood for talking either."

With that, Alnia took off her shirt and tossed it away, exposing her naked breasts. Sousuke's jaw dropped as he watched Alnia removed the rest of her clothing. Once she was completely nude, Alnia went towards the bedroom. Sousuke quickly went after her and found her standing in front of the bed, facing him with her hands on her hips.

"Wow! You must really like duelists, huh?" Sousuke remarked as he began to unbutton the purple shirt he was wearing.

"Shut up!" Alnia told him as she slapped him in the face.

Before Sousuke could respond, Alnia tore his shirt open. She moved in and planted a deep kiss on his lips, only to break away after a moment and kiss his neck. She bit down on his neck, causing him to wince. Alnia pulled away again and got down on her knees. She undid Sousuke's belt and pulled it out, throwing it onto the bed behind her. The white-haired girl pulled down Sousuke's black slacks and boxers in one stroke, freeing his hardened erection from its prison.

Alnia began to suck on Sousuke's hardened rod, causing him to groan with pleasure and tilt his head back. His mind was practically blown by the things her mouth was doing. After a few moments though, Alnia stopped what she was doing and got back to her feet.

"Get on the bed!" Alnia ordered.

Not needing to be told twice, Sousuke obeyed and got onto the bed, lying on his back. Alnia took Sousuke's belt and used it to tie his hands to the bars of the bed's brass headboard. The white-haired girl then mounted Sousuke, moaning a bit as his manhood entered her. Alnia began to slowly rock her hips. Sousuke's pulled against his restraints as Alnia picked up her pace. Her breasts began to bounce as her movements became wilder.

Suddenly a pair of red-feathered angelic wings appeared on Alnia's back. Before Sousuke could figure out what was happening, her body began crackling with red electricity that sent new waves of pleasure throughout his entire body. Alnia's skin began to turn blue and her face became like a mask that lacked any kind of nose or mouth. Her eyes seemed to gain black mascara, and a dark wig like the ones worn by Egyptian princesses replaced her white hair. On her forehead was a golden tiara that looked like a sun disk between a pair of wings. She had gained golden bracelets on her wrists and ankles, and her fingernails had become like golden claws.

Before long Sousuke could feel Alnia's inner walls tightening around his manhood. He could feel himself teetering on the edge as well. Then in one glorious moment they climaxed and Sousuke passed out. Alnia dismounted Sousuke and got off the bed. Parts of her body flashed with a crimson light that formed into a white Egyptian-style mini dress with a gold sash around the waist and a golden emblem on her chest that had a red gem in the center. On her feet she had gained a pair of golden sandals.

"You weren't bad, pretty-boy." Alnia remarked to the unconscious Sousuke as she undid the belt tying his wrists to the bed. "I actually needed that a bit after the way Anitak and Mitaka screwed things up. Maybe when you've served your purpose I'll let Mitaka have you as a new plaything."

Alnia then looked around the room and spied a deck of Duel Monsters cards on the nightstand. A crimson light appeared in Alnia's right hand and formed into a card. The female Barian walked over to the nightstand and slipped the card into the deck before looking at Sousuke again.

"You won't remember much of what happened tonight other than me rocking your world." Alnia told the unconscious actor. "You'll be hung over too, but you should still do a good enough job against Tsukumo and the envoy. Or rather you will with me pulling your strings."

With that, Alnia headed for the door. A portal in the form of a swirling galaxy appeared in front of her as she came near. As soon as the Death Queen entered the portal it closed behind her, leaving no trace that she was ever in the penthouse.

* * *

It was early in the afternoon as Yuma came downstairs to answer the door. He opened the door to find his girlfriend, Kotori Mizuki. The green-haired girl had on a pink shirt with a white jacket and a short violet skirt.

"Hi Yuma. Ready to go?" Kotori asked.

"Yep, all set." Yuma replied.

"Then let's get going." Kotori told him. "If we don't get to the mall soon, the place is going to be packed."

With that, Yuma shut the door behind him and headed down the street with Kotori. They walked in silence for a few moments as they headed for the Heartland Mall.

"…So why are we going to the mall again?" Yuma asked.

"Because Sousuke Yoshina is going to be there." Kotori answered.

"The guy from that T.V. show that's real big right now?" Yuma asked.

"Uh-huh. I'm hoping I can get his autograph." Kotori revealed.

"I didn't know you were that big a fan of the guy." Yuma replied. "If you ask me, his acting's not that great."

Kotori said nothing in response to Yuma's remark and they continued walking in silence. After a few minutes of walking they had reached the mall parking lot. Hanging on the front of the mall were two large banners showing a man in a black bodysuit with grey shoulder and chest armor, along with a grey helmet like mask with red bug-like eyes and two small black horn-like antenna. The mask only showed the skin around the man's mouth. Yuma recognized the masked hero on the banners as Kamen Fighter X, the character that Sousuke played on T.V.

As Yuma and Kotori reached the entrance to the mall, they spotted a pair of familiar people at the door. One of them was a young man who was just a little older than Yuma. He had bluish-purple hair that was shaped almost like an octopus wearing a blue jacket with a black shirt and jeans. This was Yuma's friend, Ryoga "Shark" Kamishiro. The water duelist had his usual scowl on his face.

The person with Shark was a young woman with dark-blue and gold hair that grew half way down her back, and a pair of golden cat-like eyes. She had on a sleeveless white shirt that had a blue circle on the front with a dark-blue vest, along with a pair of black fingerless gloves that went up past her elbows. The rest of her outfit consisted of a pair of tight black jeans with a brown pair of cowboy boots. Hanging from her neck was a small gold cross-shaped medallion with an emerald crest. Yuma and Kotori knew the young woman as Shark's girlfriend, Hikari Fudo.

"Hey guys." Yuma greeted as he and Kotori walked up. "You here to see that Yoshina guy too?"

"Pretty much." Shark confirmed. "Apparently Hikari's kind of a fan of his."

"Well, his show is pretty interesting." Hikari admitted. "And to be honest, I wouldn't mind getting his autograph."

"Looks like we all had the same idea." A familiar voice spoke.

Yuma and the others looked to see a tall young woman with pale skin, orange eyes and dark hair with purple bangs. She had on a black leather jacket with a purple shirt and a short black skirt held in place by a belt with a silver butterfly-shaped buckle. Yuma and the gang knew this woman as another one of their friends, Droite. With Droite was a young man with light-blonde hair and a pale completion, wearing a black t-shirt and a pair of faded jeans. This was Droite's boyfriend and Yuma's friend and rival, Kaito Tenjo.

"So, you got dragged to this too Kaito?" Shark asked.

"Droite and I just happened to be in the area and… yeah. Pretty much." Kaito admitted.

"I didn't peg you for a Sousuke Yoshina fan, Droite." Hikari spoke.

"He's not bad." Droite admitted. "I was kind of moved by that episode when his character finally revealed his secret identity to his on-screen love interest."

"I know. That was such a touching episode." Hikari agreed.

"I couldn't stop crying for ten minutes after I saw that one." Kotori admitted.

"We better get in there before this place gets packed." Hikari told them. "I'm sure we're not the only ones here hoping for an autograph."

With that, Yuma and the gang went into the mall. Yuma, Kaito and Shark wound up sitting at a table together while the ladies went to get a good spot by the stage where Sousuke was set to appear. The mall had already become crowded with Sousuke's fans, many of which appeared to be women.

Yuma sighed and slumped onto the table. "Man! When Kotori said we should go to the mall today, I didn't know this was what she had in mind. And I could be using this time to get ready for the Millennium Tournament too."

"You know Yuma, just because you're entered in the tournament doesn't mean you'll get to actually participate." Shark told him. "They only pick the top sixteen duelists for this thing."

"He does have a chance, Shark." Kaito interjected. "Yuma is still the champion of the World Duel Carnival."

"I'm not worried." Yuma enthusiastically declared as he sat back up. "I know I'll get into the tournament! And when I do, Astral and I will make it to the top!"

At that moment, particles of light began to flow out of the Emperor's Key hanging from Yuma's neck. The lights quickly gathered together and took the form of Astral.

"I hope I'm not intruding." Astral spoke.

"Nah, you're fine Astral." Yuma assured him. "Turns out Kotori came here to drool over some actor."

Suddenly the lights inside the mall dimmed and a spotlight came down onto the stage. Walking up to the microphone that had been set up was a woman with long dark-red hair wearing a black pantsuit with a white shirt.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Thank you all for coming out today." The woman spoke. "I know why you're all here, so I'm not going to waste any of your time. Presenting here today at the Heartland Mall, the superstar of Kamen Figher X! Give it up for Sousuke Yoshina!"

Almost everyone in the mall cheered as Sousuke walked up onto the stage. The brown-haired actor waved and blew a few kisses to his adoring public, causing most of the women there to squeal with delight. Kaito and Shark both rolled their eyes.

"Wow! This is quite the warm welcome I've gotten here." Sousuke spoke as he took the microphone in hand. "Thank you all for coming out here today. Now, I'm sure many of you here are hoping to get an autograph from me, but first I have a little surprise for all of you. As I'm sure many of you know, in addition to being a fine actor I'm also a pretty good duelist. And I've decided to give one lucky person here a chance to take me on."

"Seriously?" Shark asked. "Talk about cheap publicity. I bet this guy couldn't even beat a five-year-old."

"You think he'll pick one of us?" Yuma asked.

"If he picks me, I'll tear him to shreds in five minutes." Shark declared.

"I could take him apart in less time than that." Kaito responded.

"Now then, the one I choose to duel is… that guy!" Sousuke announced as he pointed at the table of Yuma and the others.

Suddenly a spotlight came down on Yuma, much to his surprise. Soon all eyes were fixed on him.

"Uh… he really wants to duel me?" Yuma asked.

"Looks that way." Shark answered. "You better get up there."

"Yuma. This would be the perfect chance to test out our new deck." Astral pointed out.

"Well in that case, let's do this!" Yuma replied as he got up.

In moments, Yuma was up on the stage facing Sousuke with Astral floating behind him. Meanwhile, Kotori, Hikari and Droite had rejoined Kaito and Shark at the table.

"I sure never expected anything like this to happen." Kotori spoke.

"You better kick his ass, Yuma!" Shark called.

"Yuma Tsukumo, the champion of the World Duel Carnival." Sousuke spoke. "Sorry for calling you out like this. When I saw you in the audience, I thought this would be the best chance for me to take you on."

"Don't worry about it. I'm always up for a duel!" Yuma declared.

"Then let's put on a show that these people won't forget!" Sousuke told him.

With that, Yuma and Sousuke activated their D-Gazers and duel disks. The people in the audience activated their D-Gazers as well, and in seconds the color of the mall went through a slight change.

"I'll let you go first." Sousuke decided.

"Okay then!" Yuma responded as he drew his first card. "First I set one card on the field! Then I summon Gogogo Golem in Defense Mode!"

Appearing on Yuma's side of the field was a stone creature with an almost football-shaped body made of smooth red brick. Instead of a head, it had a single red eye that was visible through a slot at the top of its round torso. Its arms were thick and ended in very large black stone hands. On the golem's back was a pair of cylinders that resembled gun barrels.

"That ends my turn!" Yuma announced.

Sousuke drew his first card. "I activate the Spell card, Smashing Destruction! With this card I can destroy my opponent's monster with the highest DEF! And since you only have Gogogo Golem on the field, it's going down!"

A ball of light shot down from the sky and stuck Yuma's rock monster. The golem shattered into pieces of stone brick that scattered all over the battlefield.

"Nice try, but I activate my Trap, Puzzle Reborn!" Yuma announced. "When one of my monsters is destroyed by a card effect, Puzzle Reborn summons it back to the field!"

The fragments of Gogogo Golem quickly began to gather back together. In seconds Yuma's rock monster had completely rebuilt himself.

"Not bad." Sousuke praised. "But I was just trying you out. I summon Inzektor Centipede in Attack Mode!"

Appearing on Sousuke's side of the field was a warrior clad in a black bodysuit with orange-brown futuristic armor styled like a centipede. The top half of his armored mask had a single glowing pinkish-red eye, and covering both his forearms were two shield-like weapons with pincer-like blades.

"Now I equip Centipede with Inzektor Hopper!" Sousuke announced.

Centipede's armor suddenly turned green and he gained a pair of folded yellow insect wings like those of a grasshopper on his back. A long narrow sword replaced the shield on his right arm.

"What the heck! Did you just equip that superhero guy of yours with another monster?" a stunned Yuma asked.

"Inzektor monsters have the power to equip themselves to each other from the hand or Graveyard." Sousuke explained. "It's the ultimate form of teamwork!"

"Fascinating." Astral commented. "I'm guessing that by equipping themselves to one another, the Inzektor monsters are able to unlock their full power."

"I activate Hopper's equip effect!" Sousuke announced. "By sending Hopper to the Graveyard, the monster he was equipped to can attack directly this turn!"

Centipede glowed with a yellow-green aura and his new wings and sword shattered to bits. The aura remained, but the insect superhero's armor had regained its original appearance.

"Next comes Centipede's effect!" Sousuke announced. "When one of his equip cards is sent to the Graveyard outside of a battle, I can add an Inzektor card to my hand! Now Centipede! Attack Yuma directly! Toxic Pincer!"

Centipede jumped high into the air and came down towards Yuma. Once in range, the armored warrior slashed Yuma in the chest and knocked him to the ground. Yuma's life points took a drop to 2400 as Centipede dashed back to Sousuke's side of the field. Many of Sousuke's female admirers cheered with glee.

"Boy. Sousuke's pretty good." Kotori remarked.

"Please, he only got off a lucky shot." Shark responded. "You're not actually cheering for that drip, are you?"

"No. I am hoping Yuma will win, but you have to admit that Sousuke seems like a decent duelist." Kotori replied.

"I'll end my turn there." Sousuke announced. "You're up, Yuma."

At that, Yuma jumped back to his feet and drew his next card. "That was a good move you just made. Now I'm pumped! I summon Gogogo Gorem in Attack Mode!"

Appearing next to Gogogo Golem was a creature that looked similar to him, only his torso was red and his eye was blue. His whole body looked like it was made of metal instead of a stone, and in his right hand he carried a spiked cylindrical club. As soon as Gogogo Gorem appeared though, his body changed from red to green.

"When Gogogo Gorem is normal summoned in Attack Mode, he automatically switches to Defense Mode." Yuma announced. "But that doesn't matter since I now use my level four Gogogo Golem and Gogogo Gorem to build the overlay network and Xyz Summon Number 52: Diamond Crab King!"

A large vortex in the form of a galaxy appeared in the middle of the battlefield and pulled in Yuma's two monsters as balls of yellow energy. Rising out of the galaxy was a large formation of blue diamond-like crystal with two balls of blue light orbiting around it. The bottom of the crystal expanded and grew into a giant blue crab with red eyes. Glowing in yellow alien writing on the crab's left claw was the number 52.

"What kind of Number is that?" Kotori asked.

"Must've been used originally by someone who really liked crabs." Shark assumed.

"It has zero ATK and 3000 DEF." Hikari observed. "It'd make a good wall monster, except Yuma played it in Attack Mode! What's he thinking?"

"I activate Diamond Crab King's effect!" Yuma announced. "By detaching an overlay unit, Diamond Crab King's ATK and DEF are switched until the end of the turn!"

One of the balls of light orbiting the crab entered the giant crystal formation on the back of his shell. Diamond Crab King's eyes began to glow and his body changed from blue to red.

"Diamond Crab King, attack Inzektor Centipede!" Yuma commanded. "Diamond Bubble!"

The giant crab fired a barrage of glowing golden bubbles from his mouth. The bubbles struck Centipede and causing him to shatter into bits of light. Sousuke's life points dropped from 4000 to 2600.

"Diamond Crab King switches to Defense Mode at the end of the Battle Phase." Yuma announced. "I'll end my turn there." With the end of Yuma's turn, the giant crab's body changed from red to blue.

"Interesting. Let's see how you handle my next move." Sousuke spoke as he drew his next card.

As soon as the actor drew his card, his face suddenly went blank and he briefly gave off a crimson aura. Sousuke groaned as if he was ill and covered his face with his hand.

"Hey! Are you okay?" a concerned Yuma asked.

In response, Sousuke uncovered his face and looked at Yuma with an evil grin. His eyes had changed from their normal blue to gold and red, and glowing on his forehead was a red wadet eye with two devil-like horns on the top.

"Hello Tsukumo." Sousuke greeted in a slightly different voice. "I'm guessing you and the envoy have recovered that little curse Mitaka placed on you both."

"Alnia!" Astral identified. "She's somehow speaking through Sousuke!"

"Are you serious?" a stunned Yuma asked.

"Very observant, envoy." Sousuke replied.

"Is Alnia really controlling Sousuke like some kind of puppet?" Droite asked.

"It looks that way." Kaito replied. "This duel just became a lot more dangerous."

"How the heck are you controlling Sousuke like this?" Yuma demanded to know while the confused audience tried to figure out what was going on.

"It's all thanks to the little card he just drew." Sousuke explained. "I slipped it into his deck last night."

"And just what sort of card did you give him?" Astral asked.

"All in good time, envoy." Sousuke told him. "First I have to set some things up. I activate Monster Reborn and summon Centipede back from the Graveyard!" The centipede=themed hero reappeared on the field. "Next I summon Inzector Ant in Attack Mode!"

Appearing next to Centipede was another warrior in a black bodysuit with blue. His helmet had a red visor and silver pincers near the opening that showed his mouth. In his right hand, the warrior wielded a large gun-like blade.

"I equip Ant with Inzektor Hornet, raising his level from three to six!" the possessed Sousuke announced.

Ant glowed with a yellow aura as his armor changed from blue to yellow. The blade in his hand was replaced with a large gun with a stinger protruding from the barrel.

"I also equip Centipede with Inzektor Dragonfly, raising his level from three to six!" Sousuke announced.

Centipede's armor turned red and a set of red transparent dragonfly-like wings appeared on his back. A black and red crossbow replaced the shield on his right arm.

"I now use my two level six monsters to Xyz Summon Inzektor Exa Beetle!" Sousuke announced.

A gold vortex appeared in the middle of the field and pulled in the two insect superheroes as balls of yellow energy. Rising from the vortex a moment later was a muscular warrior in a black bodysuit clad with bulky golden armor. The forehead of his helmet had a small rhinoceros beetle horn, and his shoulders had two pieces of large cone-shaped armor. On his back was a pair of large blade-like wings. Orbiting around the beetle warrior were two balls of orange light.

"I now activate the Spell card, Rank-Up-Magic Diablo Force!" Sousuke announced. "This card lets me use an Xyz Monster to summon a Devil Xyz Monster two Ranks higher! So I use Exa Beetle to summon DXyz Exa Scarab!"

A pillar of red flames shot up from the ground beneath Exa Beetle and pierced the skylight above. At the same time, the single ball of light still orbiting Diamond Crab King shattered and his body turned completely grey. The pillar of flames soon subsided to reveal Exa Beetle in a new form. His golden armor had turned blood red and the face of his mask had gained a pair of sharp silver pincers. His hands had gained red armored gloves with large grey metal claws on the fingers, and glowing on the chest plate of his armor in gold was the same symbol that was glowing on Sousuke's forehead. Orbiting around the insect warrior were three balls of golden fire.

"Alright you two," the possessed Sousuke spoke, "it's time you showed me what you're really made of!"

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Sorry for leaving the first duel of this story on a cliffhanger. In my defense though, the first episode of the anime did the same thing. Anyway, next week I'm going to be starting another online class, but I'll try and get as much of this story done as I can before then. Until then, stay tuned.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	2. The Selection

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.

* * *

Chapter 2: The Selection

"Thanks to Diablo Force, the effects of all other Xyz Monsters on the field lose their effects and any overlay units they have are detached." The possessed Sousuke announced. "And for each overlay unit detached by Diablo Force, the Xyz Monster I summoned with the card gains 300 ATK. Meaning Exa Scarab's ATK goes up from 1500 to 1800."

"Oh man! This is not good!" Yuma declared. "Since Diamond Crab King's lost his effects, he can be destroyed by Alnia's monster!"

"True, but at the same time this works out better for us." Astral told him. "If Diamond Crab King's effect was left intact, he would have been switched to Attack Mode the moment Alnia launched her attack against him. Besides, Exa Scarab's ATK is still much lower than Diamond Crab King's DEF."

"I activate Exa Scarab's effect!" Sousuke announced. "By detaching an overlay unit, I can equip Exa Scarab with a monster from either of our Graveyards to have it gain its ATK and DEF. And the monster I choose is your Gogogo Gorem!"

One of the fireballs orbiting Exa Scarab entered the eye-like symbol that blazed on his chest. A ball of red light then flew from Yuma's duel disk and struck Sousuke's monster, causing him to glow with a red aura. The scarab warrior's shoulder armor changed to look like Gogogo Gorem's, and in his right hand appeared the spiked club that the metal golem had used.

"Thanks to your monster, Exa Scarab's ATK becomes 4100." Sousuke continued. "That's more than enough to crack your crab's shell. Exa Scarab, pound that Number to dust! Demon Scarab Club!"

Exa Scarab charged over to Yuma and Astral's side of the battlefield and slammed his spiked club into the crystal formation on the crab's back. Diamond Crab King shattered like glass upon being hit.

"That ends my turn." Sousuke announced. "On my next turn though, you're both as good as dead."

"Don't be so sure!" Yuma told him. "That Devil Xyz Monster of yours may be tough, but it's only a matter of time before Astral and I figure out how to beat it!"

"Time's the one thing the two of you don't have." Sousuke told them. "You see Exa Scarab has another little effect. When he has Inzektor Exa Beetle as an overlay unit, I can sacrifice him to deal damage equal to his current ATK. The only reason I haven't used this little trick already is because it can't be activated on the same turn I equip Exa Scarab with a monster."

"In other words, if we do not defeat Exa Scarab on the next turn, we will lose." Astral realized.

"Very good, envoy." Sousuke confirmed. "So go ahead and make your last turn. I suggest you use it to pray to whatever god you believe in, because you're going to need his help."

"Yuma, everything now depends upon our next draw." Astral told him.

"Don't worry Astral. It may look pretty bad right now, but as I can draw cards from my deck, I'm not giving up!" Yuma declared.

As Yuma pulled his next card from the deck, it flashed briefly with a golden light. Yuma looked at the card and a grin appeared on his face.

"Okay! I summon Gogogo Giant in Attack Mode!" Yuma announced.

Materializing on Yuma's side of the battlefield was a very large humanoid creature with a body made of very smooth brown and blue stone. Its brown mask-like head had a single red eye. The way the creature's body was built was like the build of an action figure.

"When I've summoned Gogogo Giant, I can revive Gogogo Golem from the Graveyard and switch Gogogo Giant to Defense Mode!" Yuma announced.

A circle of golden light appeared on the ground next to Gogogo Giant. Yuma's original rock monster rose out of the circle and took a stance similar to Gogogo Giant's.

"I use the level four Gogogo Golem and Gogogo Giant to build the overlay network and Xyz Summon Number 39: Utopia!" Yuma announced.

A vortex in the form of a galaxy appeared in the center of the field and pulled in the two rock monsters as balls of gold energy. Emerging from the center of the vortex moments later was a large ornate white and gold sword with two balls of golden light orbiting around it. The sword unfolded and took on the shape of a warrior with white armor trimmed with gold. On its head was a helmet with three golden horns, and on its back he had a folded pair of white metal wings. Written on the large piece of armor covering the warrior's left shoulder in red was the number, 39.

"Oh yeah, that card's your ace monsters. Right envoy?" Sousuke asked. "I don't see what good it'll do you now."

"I activate Rank-Up-Magic Limited Barian's Force!" Yuma announced.

"What the hell? When did Yuma get Limited Barian's Force back?" Shark asked.

"That's the card Vector gave me when we were fighting Mitaka." Kotori explained. "I didn't really have a use for it when Astral took back Utopia, so I gave the card to Yuma."

"Using Limited Barian's Force, I rebuild the overlay network with Utopia and Xyz Summon Number C39: Utopia Ray V!" Yuma announced.

Utopia folded back into his sword form and receded back into a new vortex. A second later a new black sword styled with the Barian Emblem rose out of vortx and began to unfold. In moments Utopia stood on the battlefield in a new form. Most of his armor had turned black and had taken on a more sinister appearance. His shoulder plates had become rimmed at the bottom with large red pieces that curved upward and came to a point. His knees had become covered in red armor as well, and his upper legs glowed with sections of glowing crimson energy. The sides of Utopia's head had gained long silver horns, and the blades of his two swords had become curved. On the ground around Utopia Ray V were three red crystals covered in gold plates.

"I activate Utopia Ray V's effect!" Yuma announced. "By detaching an overlay unit, Utopia Ray V destroys an opponent's monster and deals damage equal to its ATK! And the monster I choose is Inzektor Exa Scarab!"

One of the crystals on the ground shattered and Utopia Ray V brought the handles of his two curved swords together to form a single bladed weapon. The dark warrior threw the weapon, causing it to spin through the air towards Exa Scarab. The demon insect warrior cut in half by the flying blade and exploded, taking Sousuke's life points to zero. With the duel at an end, Utopia Ray V vanished and the inside of the mall went back to normal.

"Not bad." The still possessed Sousuke praised. "I think I now have a better idea of what the two of you are capable of. Enjoy your victory today, heroes, because it's the only one you'll have against me. The next time we face each other, it'll be fore real."

With that, the cards for Diablo Force and Exa Scarab fell from Sousuke's duel disk and burst into flames upon hitting the ground. Sousuke groaned and tightly shut the eye-like symbol disappeared from his forehead. When the celebrity opened his eyes again, they had returned to their original blue.

"Huh? What's going on?" a confused Sousuke asked as he looked around. "Is the duel over?"

"It seems he does not remember anything that happened after Alnia took control." Astral observed.

"Uh… hey Sousuke! That was a great duel!" Yuma declared with a grin and a thumbs-up. "We should do this again sometime!"

"Um… sure. Whatever." Sousuke replied.

With that, the dazed and confused Sousuke excused himself from the stage, much to the even grater confusion of his fans. Yuma and Astral meanwhile left the stage and went down to rejoin the others.

"Are you guys okay?" a concerned Kotori asked.

"Yeah. We're fine." Yuma assured them.

"Alnia did all this just to see what you and Astral are capable of." Kaito told Yuma. "If you end up facing her in the tournament, beating her won't be nearly as easy."

"Don't worry. Astral and I will be ready when the time comes." Yuma declared. "Alnia may be the toughest opponent we've ever faced, but Astral and I will beat her!"

* * *

The day following Yuma and Astral's duel with Sousuke, the time had come for the announcement of the competitors for the Millennium Tournament. That afternoon after school, Yuma and Kotori had gone over to the Kamishiro mansion to hear the announcements. Inside the mansion's living room, Yuma and Kotori were sitting on the couch in front of the T.V. with Shark and Hikari. Most of the former Barian Emperors were there, as were Kaito and Droite, along with Mizael's girlfriend, Cathy.

"Hey, where's Rio?" Kotori asked upon looking around and suddenly noticing the absence of Shark's twin sister.

"She's probably with Cleo making a little stop somewhere." Shark assumed. "She said she'd be here though."

Almost as if on cue, entering the room was a young woman with long purplish-blue hair and a face similar to Shark's. This of course was Rio. Accompanying Rio was another young woman who looked to be about eighteen. She was a bit taller than Rio and had long dark hair that went half way down her back. Her face had very regal-looking features that were enhanced by her striking violet eyes. The young woman's outfit was made up of a black leather jacket with a red t-shirt, tight grey jeans and black boots, along with a small snowflake-shaped pendant encrusted with blue gems that was hanging from her neck by a thin silver chain. This was Rio's girlfriend, Cleo Atlas.

"Sorry we're late." Rio spoke as she and Cleo sat down in the center of the couch between the other two couples. "They haven't started the announcements yet, have they?"

"It should be any minute now." Hikari answered.

At that moment, Astral emerged from Yuma's key to float behind the couch. The sudden appearance of the alien life form caused Cleo to nearly jump from her seat.

"What the hell is that thing?" a startled Cleo asked.

"Oh yeah. I guess this is the first time you guys have met." Yuma realized. "Cleo, this is Astral."

"Oh. Of course." Cleo replied as she quickly calmed down. "Rio mentioned to me that you had returned."

"It is an honor to meet you, Cleo." Astral responded. "Yuma has told me about you. I also know a bit about your past life as Sonja, the Scarlet Empress through the memories contained the Legendary Number that was once attached to Rio."

"You guys better quiet down." Alit told them from his chair as he leaned forward. "Looks like they're about to start."

 _"And now to present the competitors for the Millennium Tournament, please welcome Industrial Illusions CEO, Armin Baker."_ A voice announced as the screen showed an empty podium.

The sound of clapping was heard as a short bald man with a white beard walked up behind the podium. The man who Yuma and the others quickly deduced to be Armin Baker had on a dark-blue suit with a red tie, along with a pair of square-framed glasses over his eyes.

 _"Thank you."_ Armin spoke as soon as the applause died down. _"For the past several years, the Millennium Tournament has been held in order to celebrate the origin of Duel Monsters and the original champions who's magnificent battles elevated the card game to the sport we enjoy today. It is with great pleasure that I now announce the names of this tournament's competitors."_

"Get on with it already!" an impatient Alit told the T.V.

 _"Our first competitor, from Neo Domino City, Hikari Fudo."_ Armin announced.

A picture of Hikari appeared on the large monitor that was hanging on the wall behind Armin. Yuma and some of the others in the room looked at Hikari with a slight look of surprise.

"I didn't know you were entering the tournament, Hikari." Yuma spoke.

"What duelist wouldn't want to enter this thing?" Hikari responded. "Besides, you need all the help against the Death Queens. I just wish this thing was a Turbo Duel Tournament."

 _"Our second competitor, also from Neo Domino City, Cleo Atlas."_ Armin announced. An image of Cleo appeared on the monitor behind him.

"I'm not surprised that Hikari and Cleo made the cut, but how come they were announced first?" Alit asked.

"It shouldn't come as a surprise to any of you." Cleo told them with a somewhat arrogant smirk. "After all, Hikari and I are both the daughters of champion duelists. It's only natural that the selection committee would recognize our natural talent."

 _"Our third competitor in the tournament, from Heartland City, Kaito Tenjo."_ Armin announced. An image of Kaito appeared on the monitor.

"Well, no surprise there." Yuma remarked.

 _"Our fourth competitor, also from Heartland City, Mizael."_ Armin announced.

"Well Tenjo, it looks like you and I may be battling yet again." Mizael observed.

"Looking forward to it." Kaito replied.

 _"Our fifth competitor for this tournament, from Spartan City, Gauche."_ Armin announced. Appearing on the monitor behind him as the audience applauded was the image of a man with bright orange and red hair who Yuma and most of the others knew very well.

"Alright! Looks like I might get the chance to duel Gauche again." Yuma enthusiastically realized.

"You haven't been announced as a competitor yet, Yuma." Shark reminded him. "Just settle down."

 _"Taking part as our sixth competitor, from Heartland City, Ryoga Kamishiro."_ Armin announced.

"Well Ryoga, looks like we might end up dueling each other." Hikari observed.

"If that happens, just know that I won't be going easy on you just because you're my girlfriend." Shark told her.

"Wouldn't have it any other way." Hikari replied as she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Our seventh competitor, also from Heartland City, Thomas Arclight." Armin announced. Appearing on the monitor behind them was the image of a young man with gold and reddish-brown hair and a scar under one of his eyes.

"Looks like almost everyone we know is competing in this thing." Kotori observed.

 _"Our eighth competitor, also from Heartland City, Michael Archlight."_ Armin announced. Showing up on the monitor was the image of a familiar young man with pinkish-red hair.

"I hope for Michael's sake that his dueling has improved since the last time I faced him." Cleo remarked. "It would be a grave disappointment for me to be able to brutally crush him a second time."

 _"For our ninth competitor, another Heartland City resident, Chitose Amamiya."_ Armin announced.

Yuma and the others quickly paused upon hearing the name that Armin announced. Appearing on the monitor behind old announcer was a young woman who appeared to be about seventeen. She had green eyes behind a pair of glasses with ovular red frames and straight black hair tied in a braided ponytail that went half way down her back. Yuma and the rest of the gang knew very well that the young woman who had just been named as a competitor was one of the Barian Death Queens, Anitak.

"Guess we shouldn't be shocked. We knew at least one of the Death Queens was going to show up in this thing." Shark reminded everyone.

 _"As our tenth competitor, yet another Heartland City resident, Samantha Warren."_ Armin announced.

Appearing on the monitor behind Armin was the image of an attractive young woman who looked to be about sixteen. She had short red hair and striking golden eyes. Yuma and the others knew this young woman as the second member of the Barian Death Queens, Mitaka.

 _"Taking part as our eleventh competitor, from Heartland City, Alnia."_ Armin announced. An image of Alnia's white-haired human form appeared on the monitor behind him.

"It appears that we'll be facing all three of the Death Queens in this tournament." Astral observed.

"I'm a little surprised that Alnia is using her really name." Droite remarked.

"She probably didn't bother since she knows we're expecting her." Kaito assumed.

 _"Our twelfth competitor, all the way from Obsidian City, Stacy Livingston."_ Armin announced.

Appearing on the monitor behind Armin was the image of a young woman who looked to be about seventeen. She had shoulder-length lavender hair and olive-green eyes behind a pair of oval-framed glasses. The picture showed her wearing a brown leather jacket over a white buttoned-up shirt.

 _"As our thirteenth competitor, from Spire City, Shane Ford."_ Armin announced.

Showing up on the monitor behind Armin was the picture of another young woman who looked to be about eighteen. She had black hair tied back in a ponytail and hazel eyes. The outfit she had on was made up of a black leather vest over a white t-shirt. In the picture, the girl was winking and pointing at the camera, revealing she had on a pair of black fingerless gloves.

"Looks like some of us might be going up against two people we've never heard of before." Shark observed.

"Aw man! When the heck are they going to say my name?" Yuma whined.

"Cheer up, Yuma. There are still three spots left." Kotori pointed out.

 _"Taking part as our fourteenth competitor, from Heartland City, Rio Kamishiro."_ Armin announced.

Shark looked at Rio with a look of utter shock. "You entered the tournament?"

"And why shouldn't I have?" Rio responded. "I have just as much right to take part in this thing as you do, Ryoga."

 _"As our fifteenth competitor, also from Heartland City, Alit."_ Armin announced.

"Finally." Alit spoke with a satisfied grin as he crossed his arms. "Just barely made the cut."

"What about me?" Yuma declared.

 _"Finally, we have as our sixteenth and last competitor in this tournament, from Heartland City… Yuma Tsukumo."_ Armin announced.

"Alright!" Yuma joyfully cheered as he jumped into the air. "I knew they'd pick me!"

"Guess being picked last is better than not being picked at all." Shark remarked.

"There's nothing you can say that can dampen this moment." Yuma told him.

 _"The tournament will begin in Heartland City in three days."_ Armin announced. _"To all sixteen of the competitors, I wish them the best of luck."_

* * *

When the broadcast ended, Yuma and the others decided to spend a bit of time at the mansion to celebrate. Before long the afternoon started to grow late. Yuma, Astral, Kaito and Shark had gone out to the yard behind the mansion to talk.

"Man, I am totally psyched for this tournament!" Yuma declared.

"This won't be all fun and games though Yuma." Kaito told him. "Remember, all three of the Death Queens will be competing."

"You are correct, Kaito. However, at this time it is impossible to know which of us will be facing them and when." Astral pointed out. "We should all still try to enjoy this tournament as much as possible."

"Astral's right. There's no point in worrying about the Death Queens until we end up facing one of them." Shark agreed. "Until it happens, let's just treat this as any other tournament."

"I guess you're right." Kaito finally agreed as a small half-smile formed on his face. "For all we know, we might even end up facing each other again."

"Whatever happens, I'm going to have a blast in this tournament either way." Yuma declared. "And I know that this time I'm going to make it to the top!"

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Sorry if the second half of this chapter was a little on the dull side. I was a little surprised by how much the tournament announcements sort of dragged on, but it was kind of unavoidable. Anyway, in the next chapter we'll start to get into the actual tournament. Keep in mind that our tournament participants won't be facing each other in the order they were announced.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	3. Sibling Showdown

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.

* * *

Chapter 3: Sibling Showdown

An uneventful three days had gone by since the big announcement of who was going to be participating in the Millennium Tournament. Yuma and the others had used those three days to train and prepare for the duels that were to come. Those three days seemed to go by in a flash though, and that afternoon it seemed like almost everyone in the city was massing at the same stadium where the World Duel Carnival had been held. While most of the people at the stadium were trying to find seats, Yuma and Kotori were making their way to a small auditorium in the stadium's basement. The reason for this was because Yuma had gotten a letter in the mail asking all tournament participants to gather there before the start of the duels.

"I wonder why all the competitors are supposed to meet down here?" Kotori wondered as she and Yuma reached the door.

"It's probably just to explain the rules or something." Yuma assumed.

As soon as they walked through the doors, Yuma and Kotori saw Shark and Kaito waiting to meet them, along with Hikari and Droite. For the most part, the auditorium was more or less empty. The staged had been set up with a large monitor, a podium and a large object hidden under a blue sheet.

"Hey guys." Yuma greeted as he and Kotori walked up. "Looks like we're the first ones here, huh?"

"This is the first time I've seen you show up early for anything." Shark remarked.

"I'm sure it won't be much longer before the rest of the competitors show up." Hikari assumed.

At that moment, the auditorium doors opened again and in walked a familiar man with red hair. Yuma and the others instantly recognized him as Gauche.

"Well, looks like I'll have some tough competition in this thing." Gauche observed as he walked up. "How ya doing, Yuma?"

"Hey Gauche!" Yuma enthusiastically greeted. "I'm really looking forward to taking you on in this tournament."

"Same goes for me." Gauche replied. He then noticed Droite and Kaito and his expression darkened. "Hi Droite."

"Hello Gauche." Droite responded. "Is that new manager I hired for you working out?"

"Yeah, though sometimes she's a real pain in the ass." Gauche answered. "So how much longer do you plan to stick around here playing school teacher?"

"At the moment, it's looking permanent." Droite told him.

"I see…" Gauche replied. He then gave Kaito an icy glare. "If we end up facing each other in this thing, I'm am gonna kick your ass."

"You're welcome to try." Kaito calmly replied.

With that, Gauche excused himself and went to take a seat towards the front of the auditorium. Droite let out a small sigh as soon as he was gone.

"Well, that was awkward." Shark remarked.

"Probably would've been even more awkward if Droite was dueling in the tournament too." Yuma assumed.

"Hey, come to think of it, why aren't you in this tournament Droite?" Shark asked. "I mean you'd be a pretty tough opponent to beat."

"Well… with everything that's going on, both Kaito and I thought it would be better if I sat this one out." Droite answered, placing her hand on her stomach as she spoke.

At that moment, Hikari, Kotori and Kaito all exchanged looks. Yuma of course was ignorant of this, but Shark quickly picked up on it.

"Is there something going on that we should know?" Shark asked.

"No." Kotori responded.

"Of course not." Hikari replied with an innocent smile.

"No." Kaito flatly told him.

Before Shark could question them further, Alit entered the auditorium with Mizael and Cathy. Cleo and Rio entered the auditorium soon after.

"Looks like half the competitors are here now." Cleo observed. "Though I don't see those Death Queens here yet."

"They'll probably show up before too long." Shark assumed.

"Hi guys." A familiar voice greeted. Yuma and the others looked to see Michael entering with Thomas.

"Hey Michael." Yuma responded. Meanwhile, Thomas and Cleo were glaring at one another.

"You know, we should probably all find our seats before this presentation we're supposed to see starts." Rio told everyone upon noticing Cleo giving Thomas the death stare.

"Actually, if it's okay I'd like to have a word in private with Shark, Yuma and Kaito." Thomas requested.

The rest of the group agreed to this and went to go sit down. Thomas, Yuma, Kaito and Shark remained by the door.

"So what's up?" Shark asked.

"Well… I know this is kind of weird for me to be asking you about this, but I was wondering if any of you guys knew anything about one of the other duelists in this tournament." Thomas began as he rubbed the back of his head. "Her name's Samantha Warren."

At this, Shark exchanged looks with Yuma and Kaito. "Yeah, we kinda know her. Why?"

"Well you see… I kinda slept with her the other night." Thomas admitted.

Yuma and the others were utterly dumbstruck upon hearing this news. Not even Kaito could hide his expression of utter shock.

"What… the… hell!" Shark spoke. "How… how did that even happen?"

"I had just gotten back from that tournament in London when I just ran into her." Thomas explained. "She mistook me for her ex-boyfriend or something. Anyway, we ended up going back to my place and before I knew it we were in bed together. But when I woke up the next morning, she was gone. Since then I haven't been able to get her out of my mind. I was just wondering if any of you guys knew anything about her."

"You dumbass!" Shark cursed.

"What the hell's your problem, Shark?" Thomas asked.

"Thomas, it's much better if you don't get involved with that woman." Kaito told him.

"And why's that?" Thomas demanded to know.

"Well you see…" Yuma began.

"Well, well. Looks like the gang's all here." A familiar voice spoke. Yuma and the others looked and saw Alnia walk in with Chitose and Samantha.

"Samantha, I…" Thomas began.

"Get out of my sight before I rip off your balls and shove them down your throat!" Samantha ordered in a hate-filled voice.

Thomas was visibly shocked by the way Samantha spoke to him. After a brief moment he silently left and went to take a seat by Michael.

"You'll have to forgive Mitaka." Alnia told them. "She's been in a cranky mood ever since the announcement of who was competing in this tournament."

"Just what do you three want?" Shark asked.

"We just wanted to say hi." Alnia answered. "And to tell you that no matter how this thing plays out, the three of you are dead."

At this, particles of light streamed from the Emperor's Key and took the form of Astral. "You will not win, Alnia. You and your fellow Death Queens may be powerful, but in the end cannot overcome the power Yuma and I have."

"We'll see about that, envoy." Alnia told him.

"Alnia, we should probably sit down." Chitose suggested. "This presentation we're supposed to watch should be starting at any moment now."

"Yeah, I guess it is about that time." Alnia agreed. "We'll catch you all later."

With that, Alnia and her gang took their seats in the auditorium. Yuma, Kaito and Shark all took their seats as well, with Astral floating behind Yuma's chair. After a few short minutes, a man walked onto the stage. The man in question was the same man who announced the competitors for the tournament, Armin Baker.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen." Armin spoke from behind the podium. "Those of you here have probably noticed that two of your fellow competitors are still not here. That is because their planes have been delayed, but I have been assured that they will arrive here soon. In any case, it is my honor to welcome you all to the Millennium Tournament. I would like to begin by briefly telling you all about the history of this tournament."

"Aw jeez! I didn't come here for a boring lecture." Alit grumbled under his breath.

"The tournament began almost thirty years ago as a way to honor the original champions of Duel Monsters." Armin continued. "There were those who felt afraid that the memory of those who help to found this great sport of ours were in danger of being forgotten. And now I would like to show you all a symbol from that glorious past. It is said that one of the original champions, Seto Kaiba had started the original Battle City Tournament in the shadow of a museum that at the time was holding a mysterious and magnificent stone tablet from Egypt on display. With the permission of the Egyptian government, we have borrowed that very same tablet to show to you all now. Behold!"

With that, a pair of ropes from above pulled off the cloth covering the object on stage, revealing it as an ancient tablet of brown stone. Two figures were engraved on the front of the tablet. On of them was man with almost star-shaped hair wearing a pendant in the shape of an inverted pyramid hanging from his neck. The other figure, who was facing him from the other side of a flaming caldron, was a man holding a scepter in his hand. Behind each figure were two monsters, one of which looked like a wizard or magician and the other looked like a dragon. Yuma and the others were stunned by the appearance of those two figures and their monsters.

"Is… is that one guy on the tablet Yugi Muto?" Shark asked.

"It looks that way." Hikari answered. "That monster behind him even looks like his ace monster, the Dark Magician."

"That figure holding the scepter at his side looks like Seto Kaiba." Kaito observed. "And the dragon behind him looks like the Blue-Eyes White Dragon."

"It looks almost like they're dueling." Kotori realized.

"Yeah, it does." Yuma agreed.

"Fascinating!" Astral declared

Meanwhile, Alnia's teeth were clenched in rage. "That damn pharaoh! How dare that old man show that tablet in my presence!"

"Take it easy, Alnia." Samantha told her. "I get why you're ticked, but we don't want to make a scene."

"Quite an interesting tablet, isn't it? Armin asked. "Some of those who have seen this stone even believe that this tablet shows the very origin of Duel Monsters. This tablet will remain on display here in the stadium for the duration of the tournament so that those of us who wish to can gaze upon it and contemplate its secrets. For now though, I believe it is time to get down to business. The other reason you all have been called here is for the announcements of the matchups for the preliminary round. I now turn your attention to the monitor."

The large monitor on the stage turned on and showed an ordinary tournament bracket. Every one of the duelists competing looked for their names to see who they were up against.

"I'm up against Chitose in the first round!" a surprised Alit quietly observed.

"Hey Thomas, looks like you're facing that girl you've been talking about in the prelims." Michael noted.

"Yeah… looks that way." Thomas responded.

"So, I'm up against Atlas in the first round." Mizael observed. "It's about time she and I settled things."

"Gauche is up against Alnia." A concerned Droite noticed.

"The duels in Bracket A will be held this afternoon." Armin announced. "The duels taking place in Bracket B will be held tomorrow."

"Aw man! That means I'm not gonna get to duel until tomorrow!" a disappointed Yuma complained.

"Yuma, you should take a closer look at who we'll be fighting in the first round." Astral told him.

Yuma took a second look at the name of his opponent and shot out of his chair. "I'm up against Kaito?"

"A duel like this was bound to happen sooner or later." Astral pointed out. "Especially in a tournament like this. We must be prepared."

"Looks like I'm up against one of the no-shows, Shane Ford." Hikari observed. "What about you, Ryoga?"

"I'm… up against my sister." Shark answered. "And in the very first duel of the tournament too."

"The first duel will begin in fifteen minutes." Armin announced. "I wish all of you the best of luck."

* * *

The stadium was already packed to the rafters as Kotori, Cathy and Droite tried to make their way to their seats. They were fortunate enough to get some seating towards the front.

"It'd be nice if we had our own special section like the wives of athletes get." Cathy remarked.

As soon as they found their seats, Kotori froze upon seeing who they were next to. It was a young woman with reddish-pink hair wearing a vest that was actually a denim jacket with the sleeves torn off over a pink t-shirt that showed off her cleavage, along with a pair of very short denim shorts. Kotori instantly recognized the young woman as Anna Kozuki, who during Mitaka's attempt to get the Numeron Code had become Kotori's romantic rival. Anna had fallen into a coma after Kotori had defeated her in a duel, but Astral had managed to revive her and the other young women who had become Mitaka's pawns.

After a moment, Anna quickly noticed Kotori. "Oh… hi Mizuki."

"Hi there, Anna." Kotori replied with a nervous smile. "Uh… nice day for a tournament, huh?"

"Um, Cathy, why don't you take the seat next to Anna?" Droite suggested.

Cathy agreed and sat down between Anna and Droite's left. Kotori took the remaining seat on Droite's right and looked down nervously at the floor.

"This is so awkward!" Kotori quietly declared. "I never expected to be sitting near Anna of all people!"

"Hello everyone." A familiar voice spoke. Kotori and the others looked and saw Durbe with Gilag and Vector taking some of the seats in the row behind them. "It looks like we arrived just in time."

"So Nasch and Merag are going to be up in the very first duel." Vector observed. "This'll be quite the show."

"I'm kind of hoping that Rio will end up beating Shark this time." Kotori admitted. "It must be frustrating for her to keep losing to her brother all the time."

"If I'm right, Nasch won't have as easy a time facing Merag as he did in the past." Durbe told her.

"What makes you say that?" Droite asked.

"Rio spent a lot of time with Cleo during the last three days." Durbe answered. "I have a feeling that part of that time was spent training."

* * *

Shark waited up on the stage on the stadium floor for things to begin. Yuma and most of the other competitors meanwhile were waiting in a sort of dugout that had been set up. Alnia and the rest of the Death Queens were in another dugout that at the moment they had all to themselves. After a few moments, Rio took the opposite side of the stage.

"It's kinda funny how we'd end up facing each other in the first round." Shark remarked.

"This won't end the same way as all our other duels, Ryoga." Rio declared.

"We'll see about that." Shark told her.

"First duel of the preliminary round, Ryoga Kamishiro vs. Rio Kamishiro!" announced a referee standing at the base of the stage. "Begin!"

Shark and Rio both activated their D-Gazers and duel disks. The rest of the people in the stadium activated their D-Gazers as well and the color of the surrounding area changed.

"I'm going first!" Rio declared as she drew her first card. "I set one card on the field. Then I summon Blizzard Falcon in Defense Mode!"

Appearing on Rio's side of the battlefield with an icy blast of wind was a large blue falcon with a yellow beak. It seemed to have armor instead of feathers, with both its wings being made out of light-blue metal and shaped almost like the wings of a butterfly.

"That ends my turn." Rio announced.

Shark drew his first card. "I summon Left-Hand Shark in Attack Mode!"

Appearing on Shark's side of the field was a blue and white shark with an oversized armed head. It had four fins on its back that were arranged like the fingers of a left hand.

"Since I just summoned a Water monster, I can also summon Shark Stickers!" Shark announced. Materializing next the Left-Hand Shark was a sleek blue fish with suction cups on the top of its head. "I now use the level three Left-Hand Shark and Shark Stickers to Xyz Summon Black Ray Lancer!"

A vortex appeared in the center of the field and sucked in Shark's two monsters as balls of blue energy. Rising out of the center of the vortex a moment later was a creature covered in black scale-like armor. It had a humanoid upper body, and a purple helmet completely covered his head. On his back was a pair of large blue fins like those of a fish. The creature had a slender midsection, and on its waist was another large pair of blue fins where legs would normally be. In its right hand, the creature carried a long red spear.

"Black Ray Lancer, attack Blizzard Falcon!" Shark commanded. "Phantom Harpoon!"

Black Ray Lancer threw his red spear at Rio's armored bird. Blizzard Falcon was pierced through the chest and shattered into bits of light.

"I activate my Trap, Snowbird Migration!" Rio announced. "When a Water Winged Beast-type monster I control is destroyed in battle, I can summon two new Winged Beast monsters from my deck in Defense Mode with their effects negated. I summon Blizzard Thunderbird and Aurora Wing!"

Two new monsters appeared on Rio's side of the battlefield. The first was a slightly humanoid bird-like creature with a body covered completely in blue ice-like armor. On its back it had a large pair of wings made of golden blades. The second monster was another bird with a white body with massive wavy blue and green wings and tail feathers. On its head was a large wavy blue and green crest.

"I'll set two cards on the field and end my turn." Shark announced.

"Looks like Shark's already taken the lead in this duel." Yuma observed from the dugout.

"True, but Rio already has everything set up for an Xyz Summon." Astral pointed out.

"That's not the only thing she has set up." Cleo spoke.

"You look like you know something." Hikari responded. "Care to let us in?"

"You'll all see what I'm talking about soon enough." Cleo replied.

Rio drew her next card. "Using the level four Blizzard Thunderbird and Aurora Wing, I build the overlay network and Xyz Summon my ultimate monster! Arise, Number 103: Ragnazero!"

Another large vortex resembling a swirling galaxy appeared in the middle of the battlefield and pulled in the two birds as balls of blue energy. Emerging from the center of the vortex with a blast of ice and snow was a woman with grey skin wearing a sleeveless white dress with a long skirt. Down the front of the skirt was a large section of red, and around the skirt's end were several gold triangular ornaments. She had six blades of ice on her back, and in each hand was a curved ice sword. A red stocking covered the lower half of the woman's face. She had red eyes, and dark-blue hair arranged in a very ornate style. Two of the ornaments in her hair were two more long blades of ice. Written on one of the blades in strange red alien writing was the number 103.

"Next I summon the Tuner monster, Fairy Penguin!" Rio announced.

Appearing next to Ragnazero was a small penguin with a gold glowing halo above its head and an extra pair of small white-feathered wings on its back. Silver armor covered the penguin's chest and shoulders, and in the center of its chest plate was an ice-blue diamond. Hanging from a silver belt around its waist was a small sword.

"Wait, did you just say that thing's a Tuner?" Shark asked.

"I activate Fairy Penguin's effect!" Rio announced. "When Fairy Penguin is summoned normally, I can summon a Winged Beast monster from my Graveyard in Defense Mode with its effects negated and its DEF reduced to zero. I summon Blizzard Falcon back from the Graveyard!"

A burst of cold wind blew on Rio's side of the battlefield. The wind died down and Blizzard Falcon reappeared.

"I tune the level three Fairy Penguin into the level four Blizzard Falcon for a level seven Synchro Summon!" Rio announced.

"Say what?" Yuma exclaimed.

"Cleo, did you know about this?" Hikari asked. Cleo's response was to merely smirk.

Fairy Penguin drew its sword and held it in the air before changing into three rings of green light. The rings encircled Blizzard Falcon and changed the bird into four white stars.

"Spirits of winter gather here and now in this place! Bring forth the light that shines on the frozen land!" Rio chanted. "Syncrho Summon! Appear, Aurora Burst Dragon!"

The stars flashed and became a pillar of multicolored light that spread a blast of snow and ice over the battlefield. After a moment the pillar of light faded to reveal a slender bipedal dragon with long arms and legs and scales as white as snow. Its torso was covered in golden armor, in the center of which was a glowing blue gem. The dragon's eyes were as blue as sapphires, and in place of horns it had a pair of small gold-feathered wings on its head. Golden bracelets adorned the dragons wrists and ankles, and on his back were two pairs of large feathered wings that glowed with the multicolored light of an aurora.

"No way!" a stunned Shark exclaimed.

"I told you Ryoga, this duel won't end the same way as all the other duels we've had." Rio told him. "This time, you're the one who's going to lose!"

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Before I did anything else with this story, I put together sort of a rough tournament bracket to figure out who everyone was going to go up against. It was kind of hard because I wanted certain characters to go up against each other in the later rounds. So what ended up happening was that some major duels were slated for the prelims in order to set up the duels that I really wanted to happen.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	4. Shark's Power

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.

* * *

Chapter 4: Shark's Power

"Where the hell did you even get a Synchro Monster?" Shark asked Rio. "Especially one that fits with your deck's theme like that?"

"Do you remember me telling you about Dante Fairbanks?" Rio asked.

"That psycho who wanted to kill Cleo and was some psycho conqueror in our past life?" Shark recalled. "What does he have to do with this?"

"He came out of his coma not too long ago." Rio revealed. "He felt bad about all the things he did to me and Cleo, so he made me Aurora Bust Dragon and Fairy Penguin to make up for it. Cleo helped me learn how to use these cards before the tournament."

"You're really okay with the guy who ripped of Red Dragon Archfiend sending Rio cards like that?" Hikari asked Cleo.

"Fairbanks will never be my favorite person in the world, but I'm not so petty as to throw away any gifts he sends her." Cleo answered. "Besides, I'm all for anything that will help Rio get stronger."

"I activate Aurora Burst Dragon's effect!" Rio announced. "By banishing a Winged Beast monster from my Graveyard, I can halve the ATK of a monster my opponent controls until the end of the turn! So I banish Blizzard Falcon to cut Black Ray Lancer's ATK in half!"

The snow-white dragon roared and fired a multicolored beam from the gem set in the center of her chest armor. The aquatic dark knight was struck and began to glow with a multicolored aura.

"And now I activate Ragnazero's effect!" Rio announced. "By detaching one of her overlay units, Ragnazero destroys an opposing monster that's ATK has been lowered to let me draw one card. And the monster I choose is Black Ray Lancer!"

One of the balls of light orbiting Ragnazero entered the guard of the sword in her right hand. The ice maiden swung the blade at Black Ray Lancer, hitting the spearman with an icy mist that caused his body to freeze. In seconds, Black Ray Lancer shattered to bits.

"Oh wow! Now Shark's completely wide open!" Yuma observed.

"It does indeed appear that way." Astral agreed. "Aurora Burst Dragon's effect works wonderfully with Ragnazero's."

"Aurora Burst Dragon has 2800 ATK. Combine that with Ragnazero's 2400 ATK, and Ryoga's had it." Cleo declared.

"Don't be so sure. Ryoga still has those two face-down cards out." Hikari pointed out.

"Oh I haven't forgotten that, cousin." Cleo replied. "But I can tell you now that those cards won't be a problem."

"There's one more thing you should know about my Aurora Burst Dragon, Ryoga." Rio told him. "As long as she's on the field, whenever one of my Water monsters attacks, my opponent can't activate any Spell or Trap cards until after the attack ends."

"Well if you're so confident you can win, go ahead and attack me." Shark dared.

"Fine! I will! Ragnazero, attack him directly!" Rio commanded. "Dance of Frozen Death!"

"Not so fast! From my hand, I activate the effect of Intercept Shark!" Shark announced.

Just as Ragnazero twirled forward to slash Shark with her blades, a black and grey mechanical shark resembling a torpedo hit the ice maiden in the chest and exploded. Ragnazero was unharmed, but Rio's life points had taken a slight drop to 3400.

"When an opponent's monster attacks me directly, I can discard Intercept Shark to negate that attack and inflict 600 points of damage." Shark explained.

"I still have one more attack left, Ryoga." Rio reminded him. "Aurora Burst Dragon, attack him directly! Northern Light Stream!"

Rio's dragon opened her mouth and fired a blast of energy that resembled the northern lights. Shark crossed his arms to try and shield himself from the attack and was struck by the blast. His life points took a heavy drop to 1200.

"I'll set one card on the field and end my turn." Rio announced.

Shark drew his next card. "You've gotten good, sis. But I'm still a whole lot better! I summon Right-Hand Shark in Attack Mode!"

Appearing on Shark's side of the field was a monster that looked like Left-Hand Shark but with a slightly different color scheme. Its fins were arranged like the fingers of a right hand.

"Since I have Right-Hand Shark on the field, I can summon Left-Hand Shark from the Graveyard as a level four monster!" Shark announced. Right-Hand Shark's opposite reappeared on the field. "I use the level four Right-Hand Shark and Left-Hand Shark to Xyz Summon Bahamut Shark!"

A blue vortex appeared in the center of the battlefield and pulled in the two sharks as balls of blue energy. Rising out of the vortex soon after was a blue and white shark-like dragon with an almost humanoid build. On its back were two pairs of fin-like wings, and orbiting around its body were two balls of blue light.

"Now I play Rank-Up-Magic Barian's Force!" Shark announced. "I use Bahamut Shark to rebuild the overlay network and Xyz Summon CXyz Barian Bahamut Shark!"

A black vortex surrounded by a strange green mist appeared in the sky above Shark and pulled in Bahamut Shark as a ball of red energy. A moment later the shark-like dragon emerged from the phenomenon in a new form. Much of his body had changed from blue to black, with the white parts of his body now grey. Lines of crimson energy glowed on the sides of his arms and legs, and on the front of his chest was a golden version of the Barian emblem. Barian Bahamut Shark landed on the battlefield, and appearing on the ground around him were three red crystals with gold plates covering them.

"That's not all!" Shark continued. "Because of Barian's Force, Barian Bahamut Shark gains Ragnazero's remaining overlay units!"

Red energy flowed from Ragnazero to Barian Bahamut Shark, pulling the remaining ball of light orbiting around her with it. The ball of light turned into another red crystal and set down on the ground beside the shark-like dragon.

"I activate Barian Bahamut Shark's effect!" Shark announced. "By detaching an overlay unit, I can summon a Rank 4 or lower Water Xyz Monster straight from my Extra Deck! I summon Number 101: Silent Honor ARK!"

One of the red crystals around Barian Bahamut Shark shattered and turned into a bolt of crimson lightning that entered the emblem on the shark-dragon's chest. Soon after, a swirling galaxy appeared in the air behind Shark. Flying out of the vortex was a vehicle that looked like a small blue submarine with three very long spikes projecting outward from the front. The number 101 glowed on one of the spikes in red alien writing.

"Since Barian Bahamut Shark summoned a monster while it had the original Bahamut Shark as an overlay unit, I can destroy one monster my opponent has on the field!" Shark announced. "And the monster I choose is Aurora Burst Dragon!"

Barian Bahamut Shark opened his jaws and fired a blast of glowing crimson water. Aurora Burst Dragon was hit by the stream and exploded like a scarlet firework.

"I activate one of my face-down cards, Rank-Up-Magic Quick Chaos!" Shark announced. "I use Silent Honor ARK to rebuild the overlay network and Xyz Summon Number C101: Silent Honor DARK!"

The circular window of the blue submarine's cockpit burst open, and flying out was a humanoid figure clad completely in dark-blue armor. In his right hand he carried a long red spear. Projecting back from the armor on his waist were two long fin-like blades. Adorning the right blade was the number 101 in light-blue alien writing. The submarine that had served as his vehicle was reduced into particles of red light that became a red crystal with gold plates.

"I activate the effect of Silent Honor DARK!" Shark announced. "Once per turn, I can attach an opponent's special summoned monster to Silent Honor DARK as an overlay unit! And the monster I pick is Ragnazero!"

Silent Honor DARK fired a beam of crimson light that struck Rangazero in the chest. The ice maiden turned into particles of red light that coalesced into a red crystal with gold plates. The crystal set itself down on the ground by Silent Honor DARK.

"Now Rio's the one who's wide open." Hikari observed. "Looks like this duel might be all over."

"Barian Bahamut Shark has 2900 ATK, and Silent Honor DARK has 2800 ATK." Shark told Rio. "I don't think I need to do the math for you. Bahamut Shark! Silent Honor DARK! Attack her directly!"

"I activate a Trap, Mirror Force!" Rio quickly announced.

"I don't think so! I activate my own Trap, Seven Tools of the Bandit!" Shark announced. "By paying 1000 life points, this card negates the power of your Mirror Force!"

As Shark's life points dropped to 200, Barian Bahamut Shark fired another blast of crimson water from his mouth. In the same instant, Silent Honor DARK threw his spear at Rio. The blunette was struck by both attacks and was nearly knocked to the ground. Her life points dropped from 3400 to zero in a flash. With the duel over, both of Shark's monsters vanished and the color of the stadium returned to normal.

"And the winner of the first duel is Ryoga Kamishiro!" the referee announced.

Much of the applause roared with cheers and applause. Shark walked over to his sister, who had a disappointed look on her face.

"You've gotten pretty good." Shark told her.

"Thanks." Rio responded.

With that, she walked off the stage and headed for one of the passageways leading off the arena floor. As soon as she felt she was out of sight of the audience, Rio ran through the large door. Cleo quickly left the dugout to go after her.

"Whatever." Shark huffed before leaving the stage.

"The next duel will be between Cleo Atlas and Mizael!" the referee announced. "The duel will begin in ten minutes!"

"Well that was quite the show." Alnia commented in the dugout she shared with her fellow Death Queens. "So that was the guy who was the leader of Don Thousand's pawns. He's actually not half bad. Still, someone like him has no chance against me."

"It wouldn't be wise to underestimate Ryoga Kamishiro." Chitose told her. "His Chaos Number could prove to be problematic for all of us, as we have just seen."

"Are you doubting my power Anitak?" Alnia asked.

"Not at all." Chitose answered. "I'm merely suggesting that we should all be cautious."

"Please. If anything, I'll be the only one of us that old Nasch there will be dueling in this tournament. And that's if he can get past the next round." Alnia pointed out. "Trust me, Sharkie-boy is toast if he winds up facing me."

Cleo found Rio in one of the stadium restrooms. The blunette was at the counter with the sink running wiping her face.

"Hey." Cleo spoke as Rio turned off the faucet, causing her to turn. "How're you feeling?"

"…Frustrated, more than anything." Rio answered after a moment. "In practically every duel my brother and I have had, he's beaten me. This time I thought I really had him, but then…"

* * *

Cleo walked up and turned Rio around to gently wipe a tear from her cheek. "Your brother's a very formidable duelist. I hate to admit it, but he seems even stronger than when I faced him two years ago. But you're a powerful duelist as well. With time, I know you'll get even stronger."

A small smile returned to Rio's face. She moved in to give the dark-haired girl a kiss on the lips. The kiss quickly deepened as Cleo pulled the shorter girl into a tight embrace. Their tongues did their familiar sensual dance against one another for a few moments before they were forced to break for air.

"Do me." Rio begged in a husky whisper.

A cocky smirk appeared on Cleo's face upon hearing this. Cleo nodded and got down on her knees. Rio gripped the restroom counter for support as Cleo pulled up her short blue skirt and pushed the crotch of her panties aside. The dark-haired girl's tongue slowly moved down the length of Rio's womanhood, causing her to let out a gasp of pleasure. Before long, Cleo's tongue began to probe the blunette, making her let out a deep moan and grip the counter even tighter. Eventually Rio felt herself coming to the edge, prompting her to grip the back of Cleo's head so she could buck her hips to hurry herself along.

Then at long last Rio came to a hard climax that caused her to throw her head back and let out a silent scream. Cleo got back to her feet and pulled the blunette close. She kissed Rio on her forehead, causing her to let out a contented sigh.

"We can continue this later, if you want." Cleo told her. "Right now though, I have a duel of my own coming up."

"Do you think you can beat Mizael?" Rio asked.

"Don't worry. That dragon tamer will be driven before me." Cleo confidently declared. "And in the next round, I'll pay your brother back for every defeat he's handed you."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Sorry that this chapter was a little bit on the short side. Those of you reading can blame it on the length of the duel. The original duel was to have the duel between Shark and Rio take place in a single chapter, but the scene in the beginning of the last chapter to show all the match ups and everything else ended up being way longer than I expected. There wasn't really any good way to shorten it, so the duel ended up being divided in two. So at the very least, I hope everyone enjoyed how this duel ended.

On a different note, my summer online class started up today. This means that updates to this story will start to slow down a bit, though I don't imagine they'll slow down too much since it seems like I have a pretty light workload for the whole class. But it all kind of depends on how involved each assignment ends up being.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	5. Clashing Prides

**Author's Note:** Personally I would've liked to have gotten this chapter up a little sooner, but I've had kind of an off week. Part of it has to do with my latest online class. I actually could've gotten this chapter up last night I suppose, but there was a movie on T.V. that I wanted to watch.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.

* * *

Chapter 5: Clashing Prides

Mizael waited impatiently up on the stadium stage for his opponent to arrive. The blonde dragon tamer had an annoyed scowl on his face. He was insulted by the fact that Cleo was making him wait. At long last though, Cleo walked up onto the stage opposite Mizael, causing the audience to cheer. Rio meanwhile returned to the dugout with Yuma and the others.

"Just what were you two doing this whole time?" Shark asked his twin.

"I don't think that's any of your business, Ryoga." Rio replied.

Shark's only response was to turn his head back towards the stage and grind his teeth. He had a pretty good idea of what Cleo and his sister had been up to and decided that it was best to try not to think about it.

"It's about time you and I settled things, Atlas." Mizael told Cleo. "Now I can finally pay you back for what you did to Cathy before!"

"You're still upset about that?" Cleo indifferently asked. "It was her own fault for bringing all those cats with her in Rio's presence. But I'm fine with dueling you either way. I've been wanting to put you in your place for some time now."

"As if a weakling like you could even come close to matching my power." Mizael scoffed. "Before this duel's over, I'll have you groveling at my feet!"

"That is something that will never happen." Cleo declared before pointing her finger straight into the air. "There's only one empress of duelists and that's me! Cleo Atlas!"

"Oh dear god!" Hikari sighed as she rolled her eyes.

"Stuck-up bitch." Thomas grumbled under his breath.

"Well, at least Cleo's confident." Yuma pointed out.

"I'm not sure which of these two has the bigger ego." Kaito remarked.

"You can take her, Mizael darling!" Cathy cheered from up in the stands.

"Since when did you and dragon boy become so close?" Anna asked her.

"At least I've moved on from Yuma." Cathy responded. "I'm not like a pathetic girl like you who spends her life pining over a guy they'll never have."

"You're lucky I don't have my cannon with me, catnip breath!" Anna shot back.

"I wonder which of these two will win?" Kotori asked, trying very hard to ignore Cathy and Anna.

"It's hard to say." Durbe replied. "Both Cleo and Mizael are quite powerful."

"And they've got egos to match too." Gilag added.

"Frankly, I don't really care who wins." Vector remarked. "I'm just looking forward to seeing these two beat each other to a pulp."

"The second duel of the preliminary round will be between Cleo Atlas and Mizael!" the referee announced. "Begin!"

With that, Cleo and Mizael both activated their D-Gazers and duel disks. The audience activated their D-Gazers as well and the color of the area in the stadium changed.

"I'll be taking the first turn!" Cleo declared as she drew her first card. "I set one card on the field. Then I summon Mystic Tomato in Defense Mode!" Appearing on Cleo's side of the battlefield was a large red tomato with a face like a jack-o-lantern's. "That ends my turn."

Mizael drew his first card. "I discard a Dragon-type monster from my hand to summon Binary Star Dragon from my hand!"

Materializing on Mizael's side of the field was a ball of white light with two dragon's heads growing from the top, both of which were attached to long necks. Each head was covered in silver scales and had a pair of glowing golden eyes, along with a pair of short golden horns. Extending from the bottom of the ball of light was a long silver tail with a small golden blade on the tip.

"Binary Star Dragon, destroy Mystic Tomato!" Mizael commanded. "Shooting Star Bolt!"

The dragon's right head opened its jaws and fired a ball of white light at Cleo's monster. Upon being hit, Mystic Tomato shattered into particles of light.

"When Mystic Tomato is destroyed, I can summon a Dark monster from my deck in Attack Mode." Cleo announced. "I summon Skull Knight 2!"

Taking Mystic Tomato's place on the battlefield was a warrior clad in silver armor with a tattered red cape on his back. His face was a white skull and he had red horns on the sides of his helmet. In his right hand, the knight carried a bone-like sword.

Mizael smirked. "Your moves couldn't be any more transparent. You forget that I saw your duel against that mad psychic woman, which means I know exactly why Skull Knight 2 was the monster you decided to summon from your deck. Unfortunately for you, you won't get a chance to use his power! Binary Star Dragon can attack twice during the same turn, which means your knight is finished! Binary Star Dragon, obliterate Atlas' knight! Shooting Star Bolt!"

"As if I'd give you the chance!" Cleo shot back as the dragon opened the mouth of its left head. "I activate my Trap, Shadow Spell!"

Before Binary Star Dragon could fire another shot, several black chains shot up from the ground and wrapped themselves around the dragon's body. The chains even wrapped themselves around the snouts of both of the dragon's heads.

"Not only does Shadow Spell prevent your dragon from attacking, it lowers its ATK from 2450 to 1750." Cleo announced. "Did you really think I would be so foolish as to summon my Skull Knight without a way to defend it?"

Mizael scowled. "I set one card on the field and end my turn!"

Cleo drew her next card. "I sacrifice Skull Knight 2 to summon Emissary from Pandemonium!"

Cleo's skull knight shattered to bits, and in his place appeared a very large blue dog with a mouth full of fangs and two very large red horns. Much of its body was covered in black armor adorned with several spikes and chains.

"Since Emissary from Pandemonium was summoned using only one tribute, his level is reduced from seven to five." Cleo announced. "Now, because I sacrificed Skull Knight 2 to summon a Fiend monster, I can summon a second Skull Knight 2 from my deck!" A duplicate of the demon knight appeared next to Cleo's underworld hound. "I tune the level five Emissary from Pandemonium into the level three Skull Knight 2 for a level eight Synchro Summon!"

The demon hound howled and transformed into five rings made of green light. The lights encircled Skull Knight 2 and changed him into three white stars.

"The ruler's heartbeats will now file through here! Take witness to its creation-shaking power!" Cleo chanted. "Synchro Summon! My very soul, Red Dragon Archfiend!"

The stars flashed and a pillar of white light shot into the air. The light quickly faded to reveal a muscular black and red dragon with three tan horns on its head. The two horns on the sides of its head curved forward, while the third horn went straight back. Much of the audience went into a frenzy of cheers upon seeing the iconic dragon used by both Cleo and her father.

"Looks like she really is the daughter of Jack Atlas." Gauche observed from the dugout. "If she wins this duel, I'm going to have my work cut out for me later in the tournament."

"The same is true if Mizael manages to win." Alit pointed out.

"Red Dragon Archfiend, destroy Binary Star Dragon!" Cleo commanded. "Absolute Power Force!"

Red Dragon Archfiend flew towards the two-headed dragon as a massive ball of red flames formed in his right palm. The dragon slammed the fireball into Binary Star Dragon, causing it to shatter into bits of white light. Mizael's life points dropped to 2750.

"I activate Binary Star Dragon's final effect!" Mizael announced. "Because Binary Star Dragon was destroyed, I can summon two dragons from my deck with the effects negated! I summon two Schwarzschild Dragons!"

Two identical serpentine dragons appeared on Mizael's side of the battlefield with a flash of yellow light. Both dragons were brow in color and each one had a set of three red eyes.

"Now whose moves are transparent?" Cleo remarked. "Ah well. I set one card on the field and end my turn!"

Mizael drew his next card. "Using both level eight Schwarzschild Dragons, I build the overlay network and Xyz Summon my ultimate monster! Arise, Number 107: Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon!"

A large vortex in the form of a galaxy appeared in the center of the field and pulled in Mizael's two dragons as balls of yellow energy. Rising out of the middle of the small galaxy soon after was an object that looked like a black metal top with red and blue lights near the top. Orbiting around the top were two balls of yellow light. The top unfolded and changed shape, transforming into a black mechanical dragon with purple lines glowing on parts of its body. Glowing on the dragon's head crest was the number 107 in alien writing.

"So, now they both have out dragons with 3000 ATK." Alnia observed. "This is getting rather amusing."

"In a straight-up fight between these two, the Tachyon Dragon would be the winner since it can only be destroyed by another Number." Samantha noted.

"Both of them also have face-down cards on the field." Chitose pointed out. "It is hard to tell how this next battle will go."

"Let me guess. Now you're either going to have your dragon attack mine in attack that would normally destroy both our monsters, or you're going to evolve into its chaos form."

"Neither." Mizael told her. "What I am going to do now is demonstrate a power that I gained during our conflict with Team Arcadia! A power that I have since perfected!"

"Wait! He's not talking about…" a surprised Kaito began.

"I use Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon to rebuild the overlay network and Xyz Summon a monster that's one Rank higher!" Mizael announced. "Behold! The ultimate and undisputed ruler of time! Number S107: Galaxy-Eyes Prime Tachyon Dragon!"

Tachyon Dragon let out a roar and changed back into the top-like object that he had first appeared in as another galaxy-like vortex appeared on the ground beneath him. The object disappeared into the vortex it exploded with a blinding flash of white light. After a moment the light faded, and rising out of the galaxy was a sword made of white metal with three balls of golden light orbiting around it. The front of the sword's blade had gold alien writing written on the front, and fitted into the crossguard was something that looked like a clock. The giant sword quickly transformed into a new version of Tachyon Dragon.

The dragon's mechanical body had changed from black to white and had glowing blue lines on parts of him. The color of the number on the dragon's head crest had become blue as well; as did his eyes which both had the image of a galaxy swirling within them. The dragon's chest had gained a golden plate, in the center of which was an object that looked like an hourglass with blue sand. On each side of its body it had five golden blades that acted as the dragon's wings. The dragon's entire body gave of a golden aura like that of a star.

"A Shining Number!" an awe-struck Astral spoke.

"Kaito, is that the monster Mizael used to save Cathy that one time?" Yuma asked.

"No. It's the same kind of number, but this dragon's different." Kaito answered. "For one thing, it has the same ATK and DEF as Galaxy-Eyes Prime Photon Dragon."

Meanwhile, all the color had drained from Alnia's face. "What… what the hell is that thing?"

"Alnia? You okay?" Samantha asked.

"That… that dragon!" a horrified Alnia spoke. "How did that old pawn of Don Thousand's summon that abomination?"

"I now activate Prime Tachyon Dragon's effect!" Mizael announced. "I detach one of his overlay units and reverse the flow of time on the field!"

One of the balls of golden light orbiting the mechanical dragon entered the hourglass mounted in his chest plate. The dragon roared and his body began to give of a loud ticking noise like that of a clock. Suddenly the blue sand in the dragon's hourglass began to flow upward into the top half. The sound of a loud clock chime was heard and a wave of blue light spread from Prime Tachyon Dragon all across the field. As soon as the wave hit Red Dragon Archfiend, the dragon vanished and in his place had appeared Emissary from Pandemonium and Skull Knight 2, the very monsters that had summoned him.

"What… what did you just do?" a stunned Cleo demanded to know.

"I just told you that I reversed the flow of time." Mizael told her. "When Prime Tachyon Dragon uses his effect, all special summoned monsters beside himself that weren't on the field at the beginning of the previous turn are returned to the hand. Or in the case of your Red Dragon Archfiend, they're returned to the Extra Deck. Also, in the event that the monsters sent back by Prime Tachyon were Fusion, Synchro or Xyz Monsters, the materials used to summon those monsters are summoned from the Graveyard to the same side of the field they were on before."

"In other words, Mizael's dragon literally turned back the clock." Shark observed.

"Not only that, since Emissary from Pandemonium was summoned from the Graveyard, it's a level seven monster again." Hikari added. "Even if Cleo is somehow able to survive Mizael's next attack, she can't use those monsters to re-summon Red Dragon Archfiend."

"Even the strongest monsters are helpless against the power of time! And that is the power my dragon and I wield!" Mizael declared. "Your so-called reign as empress ends here, Atlas!"

* * *

 **Author's Note:** The Shining Number that Mizael used in BVP was actually more of a prototype for the Shining Number we've seen him use in this chapter. I actually had kind of a hard time coming up with the new Shining Number he'd use. Even the name was kind of a problem until I realized I could just make this Number a counterpart to Kaito's Galaxy-Eyes Prime Photon Dragon.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	6. Red Nova vs Prime Tachyon

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.

* * *

Chapter 6: Red Nova vs. Prime Tachyon

"There is one more thing you need to know about Prime Tachyon Dragon." Mizael told Cleo. "During my turn as long as Prime Tachyon is on the field, all other monsters on the field with levels are also treated as having Ranks equal to those levels. And when Prime Tachyon Dragon attacks a monster, he gains 200 ATK times the total Ranks of all monsters on the field!"

"That means when Prime Tachyon attacks, it'll have 7800 ATK!" Rio realized.

"Prime Tachyon! Attack Skull Knight 2 and end this duel!" Mizael commanded. "Eternal Tachyon Spiral!"

The white mechanical dragon roared and fired a beam of golden light from his jaws. Before the beam could get halfway across the field however, Cleo's Emissary from Pandemonium let out an ear-piercing howl and fired a beam of green energy from its mouth. The green blast hit Prime Tachyon's attack head on, and after a moment both beams of light dissipated.

"What is the meaning of this?" Mizael demanded to know.

"When you attacked, I activated the Trap I set before, Harmonic Barrier Wave." Cleo explained. "When an opponent's monster attacks me while I have at least one Tuner out on the field, Harmonic Barrier Wave cancels that attack at the cost of lowering the levels of all Tuner monsters I control by two."

"Impressive." Astral remarked. "Not only did Cleo stop Mizael's attack, she also made it possible for her to summon Red Dragon Archfiend again on her next turn."

"In other words, even though Mizael threw everyone a curveball by summoning that Shining Number of his, Cleo's been a step ahead of him." Shark realized.

"When the effect of Harmonic Barrier Wave is successful, I get to draw one more card." Cleo continued as she pulled another card from her deck. "Rio told me all about your little trick of rewinding time within a duel, though I never expected anything like this. Still, I think you'll find I'm prepared for whatever move you make next."

"It seems you've bought yourself at least one more turn." Mizael observed with a scowl. "I will end my turn here. But know that there is nothing you can do to defeat me! Now that Prime Tachyon Dragon is on the field, I have absolute control over the destiny of this duel!"

"We'll see about that!" Cleo declared as she drew her next card. "First In tune the level five Emissary from Pandemonium into the level three Skull Knight 2 for a level eight Synchro Summon!"

The blue demon hound howled and changed back into five rings of green light. Just like before, the rings encircled Skull Knight 2 and transformed him into three white stars.

"The ruler's heartbeats will now file through here! Take witness to its creation-shaking power!" Cleo chanted. "Synchro Summon! My very soul, Red Dragon Archfiend!"

The stars flashed and shot a pillar of light high into the air. In moments the light faded and Cleo's red and black dragon reappeared with a roar.

"Now I summon the Tuner monster, Chain Resonator!" Cleo announced.

Appearing on Cleo's side of the battlefield was a short demonic-looking creature with a grey horned helmet that almost covered his entire head. The only parts of his face that showed were a pair of large glowing red eyes and a grinning mouth filled with small white fangs. On the back of the little demon was a large black chain. He had on tattered purple robes, and hanging down the front of his body was a blue banner with orange trim around the outside and a picture of a short golden chain on the front. In its right hand, the demon carried a large tuning fork, and in its left was a thin metal rod with a green orb at the end.

"When Chain Resonator is summoned normally while there's a Synchro Monster on the field, I can summon another Resonator monster from my deck!" Cleo announced. "I summon Dark Resonator!"

Materializing next to Cleo's other two monsters was another small demon that looked almost identical to Chain Resonator. On his back in place of a chain was a collection of gold cymbals.

"I tune my level three Dark Resonator and the level one Chain Resonator into my level eight Red Dragon Archfiend for a level twelve Synchro Summon!" Cleo announced.

Both demons clinked their tuning forks together and quickly changed into four rings made out of red fire. The rings encircled around Red Dragon Archfiend and formed into a ball of fire that was almost like a star.

"The Empress and the Devil shall here and now be as one! A Raging Spirit! Lift up the very cries of Creation itself!" Cleo chanted. "Synchro Summon! The power to smite the gods, Red Nova Dragon!"

With a roar, Red Dragon Archfiend burst out of the ball of flames in a new form. He was larger and was mainly bright red and dark black. On his back were four very large blade-like wings. Blade-like spikes ran down the length of his back, and the end of its tail resembled a large axe. On the back of the dragon's head was a large horn that went straight back, while on the sides of his head were two smaller horns that curved forward. On the front of the dragon's chest was a small blue diamond.

Red Nova Dragon and Prime Tachyon Dragon both glared at one another. Both dragons let out a roar that shook the entire stadium.

"Looks like Red Nova and Prime Tachyon are anxious to fight one another." Kaito observed.

"Because I have three Tuner monsters in my Graveyard, Red Nova's ATK rises from 3500 to 5000." Cleo announced. "That's a thousand points stronger than Prime Tachyon."

"That may be, but Prime Tachyon can only be destroyed in battle with another Number." Mizael pointed out. "At best, all attacking Prime Tachyon would do is inflict minor damage to my life points."

"Do you really think I'd go into a tournament full of Number users without adding cards to my deck that could counter them?" Cleo asked. "I equip Red Nova Dragon with the Spell card, Rainbow Veil!" Suddenly Red Nova began to give off a rainbow-colored aura. "Any monster equipped with Rainbow Veil negates the effects of any monster it battles with. Meaning that Prime Tachyon's invisibility to monsters other than Numbers is rendered useless!"

"If Red Nova's attack get though, Cleo just might win this thing!" Yuma assumed.

"At the very least, she won't have Prime Tachyon to worry about anymore." Kaito told him. "But Mizael could still turn things back around by reviving it or summoning Neo Tachyon Dragon."

"Mizael also still has a card face-down on the field." Astral reminded them. "This next battle could go either way."

"Red Nova! Destroy Prime Tachyon Dragon!" Cleo commanded. "Burning Soul!"

Red Nova roared and his body became covered in red flames. The demon dragon flew full speed towards Prime Tachyon, but suddenly he seemed to freeze a split second before impact. Even the flames covering his body were unmoving, as if the dragon was frozen in time. Suddenly Red Nova completely vanished from the field. A second later he reappeared on Cleo's side of the battlefield where he originally was. The flames that had been covering him were gone. Meanwhile, another ball of golden light had appeared in Prime Tachyon's orbit.

"What… what just happened?" a confused Cleo asked. "What did you do, Mizael?"

"I activated a Continuous Trap, Tachyon Rewind!" Mizael explained. "This card can only be activated while I have a Galaxy-Eyes Xyz Monster on the field. Once per turn, I can negate an attack on a Galaxy-Eyes Xyz Monster, and when I do I can attach a Dragon-type monster in my Graveyard to that Galaxy-Eyes monster as an overlay unit."

"In other words, Mizael just negated Cleo's attack and replenished Prime Tachyon's overlay units at the same time." Shark observed. "And as long as Tachyon Rewind is on the field, he can keep doing that every turn."

"If you didn't think I would have cards to protect against countermeasures to my Number, then you are the foolish one!" Mizael declared. "Now then, are you through?"

Cleo scowled. "I set one card on the field and end my turn!"

Mizael drew his next card. "Your great Red Nova may have the power to rival even the Egyptian God cards used by Yugi Muto, but even he is powerless against the flow of time that I control! I activate Prime Tachyon Dragon's effect and detach an overlay unit to send Red Nova back into the past!"

One of the balls of light orbiting Prime Tachyon entered the hourglass embedded in his chest. The dragon roared and chimed like a clock, sending a wave of blue light across the entire battlefield. Upon being hit, Red Nova Dragon vanished and the three monsters that had been used to summon him appeared in his place.

"It's a shame that I can't use Prime Tachyon Dragon's power to send Red Dragon Archfiend back to the Extra Deck as well." Mizael remarked. "But in the end, I suppose it doesn't matter. When Prime Tachyon attacks, his ATK will rise to 8200 and wipe away your life points in one shot. It's all over for you this time, Atlas."

"If you're so sure, then attack me." Cleo dared.

"Very well! Prime Tachyon, attack Chain Resonator!" Mizael commanded. "Eternal Tachyon Spiral!"

"I activate my Trap, Resonator Wall!" Cleo announced. "During this turn since I have two Resonator monsters on the field, my monsters can't be destroyed in battle and any damage I take is reduced to zero!"

Prime Tachyon fired another blast of golden light from his metal jaws. Before the attack could hit though, both of Cleo's Resonator demons clinked their tuning forks together. The resulting sound waves created a transparent blue barrier that completely blocked Prime Tachyon's attack.

"You're really starting to get on my nerves, Atlas!" Mizael told her. "You should accept the fact that nothing you can do can defeat me! As long as I control Prime Tachyon, the destiny of this duel is mine!"

"You're a buffoon if you think you control the fate of this duel just because Prime Tachyon is dominating the field!" Cleo told him. "The true fate of a duel lies in the cards each of us draws from our decks! As long as we can cards from those decks, that fate has limitless possibilities!"

"If you're really so sure about that, then I'll end my turn here." Mizael announced. "Go ahead. See if you can change your fate with your next draw!"

"You asked for it!" Cleo responded as she pulled the next card from her deck. Upon looking at the card, she smirked. "I tune my level one Chain Resonator and my level three Dark Resonator into my level eight Red Dragon Archfiend for a level twelve Synchro Summon!"

Both of the Resonator demons clinked their tuning forks together and changed into four rings made of crimson flame. The rings encircled Red Dragon Archfiend and formed into a blazing star.

"The Empress and the Devil shall here and now be as one! A Raging Spirit! Lift up the very cries of Creation itself!" Cleo chanted. "Synchro Summon! The power to smite the gods, Red Nova Dragon!"

The star exploded and Red Nova Dragon burst from it with a roar. Both Red Nova and Prime Tachyon glared at one another once again.

"Red Nova, attack Prime Tachyon Dragon!" Cleo commanded. "Burning Soul!"

"You fool! I activate the effect of Tachyon Rewind to negate your attack and attach an overlay unit to Prime Tachyon from the Graveyard!"

Red Nova Dragon roared as his body became covered in red flames. The demon dragon flew towards Prime Tachyon, only to be frozen in time a split second before impact. Red Nova vanished and reappeared a second later in the same position he was in before attacking. Meanwhile, a third ball of golden light had reappeared in Prime Tachyon's orbit.

"What did you hope to accomplish with that attack?" Mizael asked. "You knew very well that I would simply use Tachyon Rewind to stop you. Not only that, Red Nova lost Rainbow Veil when he was sent back to the Extra Deck last turn, which means your attack wouldn't have destroyed Prime Tachyon."

A grin formed on Cleo's face. "I was counting on you to use Tachyon Rewind, because now I can do this! From my hand, I activate the Quick-Play Spell, Double or Nothing! Because Red Nova Dragon's attack was negated, Double or Nothing lets him make a second attack with double the ATK points! Which means I don't need to destroy Prime Tachyon anymore!"

"And the effect of Tachyon Rewind can only be used once per turn!" Kaito realized. "Which means this next attack will finish Mizael!"

"Red Nova, attack Prime Tachyon again and end this!" Cleo commanded. "Burning Soul!"

Red Nova roared again as his body was once more shrouded in flames. Only these flames were burning as twice as hot than they were before. Red Nova flew at Prime Tachyon a second time and rammed into him at full speed. The resulting impacted created a blinding flash of white light that had washed out the entire stadium. When the duel was over, both dragons had vanished and Mizael's life points had dropped to zero. With the duel finally over the color of the surrounding area returned to normal.

"And the winner of the second duel is… Cleo Atlas!" the referee announced, causing the audience to cheer.

"Wow! Cleo really is an amazing duelist." Kotori praised. "Only a few people could take down Mizael's dragon like that."

"If you'll all excuse me, I'll be right back." Cathy announced as she rose from her chair.

"Where are you going?" Anna asked.

"If I know my Mizael, he's probably going to need some cheering up right now." Cathy told them. "Don't worry. I'll be back before the start of the next duel."

"Mizael." Cleo spoke as the blonde dragon tamer stepped off the stage, causing him to pause and look back. "You fought well against me. Besides Hikari and perhaps a few others, you are the only duelist I consider to be a true rival."

Mizael said nothing and continued towards the large door that led out of the stadium floor. Cleo merely smirked and walked off the stage back to the dugout.

"The next duel will be between Michael Arclight and Stacy Livingston!" the referee announced. "There will be a ten minutes break before the duel begins!"

"Damn!" Thomas cursed. "I was really hoping that Atlas would get her ass handed to her."

"Well, it looks like I'm up next." Michael observed. "Wish me luck everyone."

"Good luck, Michael!" Yuma told him with a grin and a thumbs-up. "Get out there and knock 'em dead!"

At that moment, Cleo entered the dugout. Rio quickly went up to her and gave her a kiss on the lips.

"Cleo." Shark spoke, getting the dark-haired girl's attention. "Looks like you and I will be up against one another in the next round."

"So it seems." Cleo replied.

"You and I still have a few things to settle." Shark told her. "This tournament looks like it'll be the best way to do that. Just keep in mind that I'm not the same guy you clobbered in duels over two years ago."

"I'll keep that in mind." Cleo told him. "But there are two things that you should keep in mind, Ryoga. The first is that I've gotten stronger in that time too. That much I'm sure you've realized by now. The second thing is that even with our relationship the way it is now, I will show you no mercy."

"I didn't expect you to." Shark replied.

Meanwhile in the other dugout, Alnia had finally managed to calm down. Chitose and Samantha were looking at her with concern.

"Are you alright, Alnia?" Chitose asked.

"You've been a total basket case since that dragon of Mizael's showed up." Samantha spoke.

"…That Shining Number." Alnia finally spoke. "Don't ask me how, but that damn thing could've somehow screwed us. Good thing the Atlas bitch managed to win."

"What makes you believe that the Shining Number would've been a threat to us?" Chitose asked.

"I just told you I don't know." Alnia answered. "All I know is we're a lot better off now that dragon boy has been knocked out of this tournament. Now nothing can stand in our way."

* * *

Mizael stood in the hallway of the stadium deep in thought. His mind was on the how and why he had lost to Cleo. The blonde dragon tamer was so lost in his own world that he failed to notice Cathy walking up to him.

"Hey." Cathy spoke, finally getting his attention. "You okay?"

"To think that I would lose in the very first round of the tournament." Mizael replied. "Though there's no shame in losing to Atlas. She's a truly worthy opponent. Still, I lost because I let Prime Tachyon's power go to my head. That's why I lost."

"You'll do better next time." Cathy told him. "The important thing is that you've learned something from this defeat. Besides, you did great out there."

"Thanks." Mizael replied as a small smile came to his face.

Cathy noticed an open utility room door and grinned, taking Mizael's hand. "C'mon."

"What are you doing?" Mizael asked as Cathy pulled him to the room.

Cathy said nothing as she took him into the room. Once they were inside, the catgirl tightly shut the door behind him. She then pinned Mizael up against the wall and planted a firm kiss on his lips. Mizael deepened the kiss and for a few moments their tongue's mingled in one another's mouths. When they broke for air, Cathy got down on her knees and went to work undoing Mizael's belt and zipper. Mizael realized that they were going to be in the room for quite a few minutes.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I was somewhat surprised that some of you who reviewed the last chapter (thank you, by the way) thought that Mizael was going to win. It's an understandable assumption actually. Truth be told, I was having a fair bit of trouble figuring out how Cleo was going to win against Mizael. But Cleo had to win so she could face Shark later in this story. As some of you reading have probably realized, they have a few issues still to work out.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	7. Artifacts and Relics

**Author's Note:** So far the work for my current online class hasn't been too bad, though it is still pretty early in the semester. Still, at the moment it looks like I'll be able to update this story a little more often than I thought I would.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.

* * *

Chapter 7: Artifacts and Relics

Michael waited patiently on the stage for his opponent to show up. Mizael and Cathy had since returned from their little rendezvous and the break period between the duels had expired almost fifteen minutes ago. Already the members of the audience were becoming restless because of the delay. Many of them were checking the clocks on their D-Gazers and grumbling amongst themselves. It almost seemed like a riot was about to break out.

"What's the freakin' holdup?" Shark complained down in the dugout.

"Maybe Michael's opponent isn't even in the stadium yet." Hikari assumed. "Mr. Baker did say that her plane was running behind or something."

"At this point they should just disqualify her and get on with the rest of the tournament!" an annoyed Cleo declared.

"I'm with Cleo." Gauche agreed. "This just a damn waste of time. I could be up there on stage dueling right now!"

"Yeah, but it'd really suck if Michael got to the next round by default." Yuma pointed out.

"Besides Gauche, I wouldn't be so eager if I were you." Kaito told him. "Your next opponent isn't like anyone you've ever faced before."

Meanwhile, the referee looked as his watch before letting out a heavy sigh. "Our apologies, ladies and gentlemen. It seems that Ms. Livingston is unable to show up. So, as we are behind schedule, I have no choice but to declare…"

"WAIT!" a voice called out, getting everyone's attention.

Running towards the stage was a young woman with shoulder-length lavender hair and glasses. She had on a brown leather jacket over a white buttoned-up shirt with a short grey skirt. Yuma and the rest of the gang recognized her Michael's opponent, Stacy Livingston.

"Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!" Stacy rapidly repeated as she ran up onto the stage. After taking her place opposite Michael, she let out a heavy sigh. "I am sooo sorry I'm late!"

"It's quite all right." Michael assured her. "It's nice to meet, Ms. Livingston. So I guess your plane was running really behind, huh?"

"Actually I've been here at the stadium for the past twenty minutes." Stacy admitted. "I was on my way here to the stage when I got distracted by something in the lobby. Did you know that they have the fabled Tablet of Memories depicting an Egyptian pharaoh resembling Yugi Muto?"

"Yes, Mr. Baker showed it to all of us competing in the tournament earlier." Michael revealed. "It really is a fascinating piece."

"I know! I've always wanted to see it with my own eyes." Stacy replied. "My dad wrote an extensive paper on the tablet years ago. He's an archeologist, by the way."

"Wait, is your dad Charles E. Livingston?" Michael asked.

"Why yes he is?" Stacy confirmed. "I take it you've heard of him?"

"Have I! His book on the ties between Ancient Egypt and Duel Monsters is fascinating." Michael told her.

"He's actually working on a new book right now." Stacy revealed. "I was with him on one of the expeditions he did for research."

"I would really love to hear about that." Michael told her.

"Get on with the duel!" a man in the audience ordered. Many of the other spectators joined him in force.

Again, the referee sighed. "As Ms. Livingston has now shown up, the next of the tournament will proceed as scheduled! Both duelists will now begin!"

Finally turning their attention back to the tournament, Michael and Stacy activated their D-Gazers and duel disks. As soon as the other people in the stadium activated their D-Gazers, the color of the surrounding area changed.

"I'll go first!" Stacy announced as she drew a card from her deck. "I set four cards on the field and end my turn!"

"Four set cards and no monsters? Is she having some kind of trouble with her hand?" Alit asked.

"Maybe. She could also be using some kind of Trap deck." Hikari speculated.

"If that's the case, then Michael will most likely lose." Cleo assumed. "He'll probably hesitate just like he did in his duel with me."

"Don't underestimate my brother, Atlas!" Thomas told her. "He won't choke the way he did that last time."

Michael drew his first card. "I summon Chronomaly Nebra Disk in Attack Mode!"

Appearing on Michael's side of the field was a large disk made out of a strange green stone. The disk had gold on its sides, and on the front of it were golden circles and dots that looked like some sort of map of the night sky.

"Oh wow! I can tell that this will be a fascinating duel." Stacy declared.

"Since I just summoned Nebra Disk, I can add another Chronomaly monster to my hand!" Michael announced. "Now I activate the Spell card, Mystical Space Typhoon! With this card's effect, I destroy the face-down card on the far left of your field!"

At this, Stacy smirked. "You picked the exact card I was hoping you would. I now activate the Trap targeted by Mystical Space Typhoon, Artifact Sanctum!"

"Wait, can she really do that?" Kotori asked up in the stands.

"Of course. Just about any card can be activated in response to Mystical Space Typhoon, even the card it's targeting." Droite told her.

"And you actually dueled to save that Mitaka woman and her followers from getting into Yuma's pants not knowing something like that?" Cathy asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, Astral was backing me up a little during those duels." Kotori admitted. "Plus is was Kaito and the others who actually took on the girls working for Mitaka."

"Explains how you were able to beat me." Anna remarked.

"When activated, Artifact Sanctum lets me summon an Artifact monster from my hand!" Stacy announced. "I summon Artifact Moralltach!"

Suddenly appearing on Stacy's side of the field as a small whirlwind appeared around her Trap was an oversized grey and bronze mechanical sword with a short wide blade and a gear in the center of the guard. Parts of the sword gave off a blue light, and holding it was a male figure with long hair made out of blue energy.

"When Moralltach is summoned during my opponent's turn, I can destroy one face-up card they control!" Stacy announced. "And the card I choose to destroy is Chronomaly Nebra Disk!"

As the small whirlwind created by Mystical Space Typhoon destroyed Stacy's Trap card, the figure holding the sword swung the giant weapon, sending a blade of blue energy across the battlefield. The blade cut Nebra Disk in half, and the two remaining pieces shattered into bits of light.

"And now, because Artifact Sanctum was destroyed, I can destroy one set Spell or Trap card that I control!" Stacy announced. "And the card I choose is Artifact Beagalltach!"

One of Stacy's cards exploded and a sword similar to Moralltach flew into the air. It spun around several times before the large blade stuck itself into the ground. Suddenly lines of red light began to glow on the blade as the gear in the center of the guard began to spin, and appearing by the weapon was a male figure with long hair made of red energy. The red figure grasped the handle of the mechanical sword and pulled it from the ground.

"Wait, what the heck?" Yuma exclaimed. "Where'd that other monster come from?"

"When Beagalltach is destroyed as a set card during my opponent's turn, I can summon him to the field!" Stacy explained. "And because Beagalltach was summoned this way, I can destroy the two remaining set cards I have on the field!"

The red figure wielding Beagalltach turned around and swung the massive sword and sent two large blades of red energy at Stacy's two remaining cards. The cards exploded and sent two new weapons flying through the air. Both weapons were incredibly large shields that seemed to be made of bronze and had gears inside them

"The cards I just destroyed were Artifact Aegis and Artifact Achilleshield." Stacy revealed. "Since they were destroyed as set Spell and Traps during my opponent's turn, I'm able to summon them back to the field in Defense Mode."

Lines of yellow light began to glow on the front of the first shield, Aegis, and the gears inside it began to spin. Appearing behind the shield to hold it up was a woman with long hair made of yellow energy. The second shield known as Achilleshield, which had a much more round design, began to glow with purple lines on the front as the gears inside it began to spin as well. Appearing behind the shield to pick it up was a male figure made of purple energy.

"Fascinating!" Astral declared. "So the true power of these Artifact monsters are only released during the opponent's turn, and when used in the right way they can swarm the field in an instant."

"I've heard about the Artifact monsters before." Michael told Stacy. "They seemed like interesting monsters, but I had no idea they had this kind of power."

"The truly interesting thing about the Artifacts is that they're based on ancient weapons made using technology too advanced for their time." Stacy revealed. "In that way, they're very similar to your Chronomaly monsters."

"Then let's see which of them is stronger!" Michael declared. "Since I just activated a Spell card during this turn, I can summon Chronomaly Aztec Mask Golem from my hand!"

Five orbs made of blue, red, white, green, and yellow light descended from the sky above and began to swirl around a fixed point on the ground. The rotation of the orbs sped up until they quickly merged to form a red, orange and green mechanical body. A beam of green light then shot up from the ground beneath the body and formed into another green orb. The orb took its place above the monsters neck and changed into a red and gold Aztec mask with a face on the forehead like that of a leopard.

"I now play the Continuous Spell, Chronomaly Pyramid Eye Tablet!" Michael announced. "As long as this card is on the field, all my Chronomaly monsters gain 800 ATK! Meaning that Aztec Mask Golem's ATK rises to 2300!"

A large golden tablet engraved with hieroglyphics and the symbol of a large eye at the top appeared behind Aztec Mask Golem. A beam of gold light began to shine from the eye on the tablet, causing the golem to glow with a brilliant golden aura.

"Impressive." Stacy praised. "But I'm afraid that the effect of Achilleshield prevents my Artifact monsters from being attacked during this turn."

"Then I'll set one card on the field and end my turn!" Michael announced.

"This is turning out to be one big waste of time." Samantha complained from the other dugout. "Is this a duel or Antiques Roadshow?"

"I'm finding it fascinating, actually." Chitose responded.

"You would." Samantha replied as she rolled her eyes.

"Is this a private party, or can anybody join?" a voice suddenly cut in.

The three Death Queens looked to see another young woman entering their dugout. She had long black hair tied in a ponytail and had on a black leather vest over a white t-shirt with faded blue jeans. On her hands she wore black fingerless gloves, and atop her head was a green and white baseball cap. The Death Queens quickly recognized who the young woman was.

"You're Shane Ford, the girl that Hikari Fudo is up against in the prelims." Alnia identified.

"Guilty as charged." Shane confirmed. "I hope you ladies don't mind, but I have this thing about not being around people I'm about to duel before the big event."

"By that logic, you shouldn't be around us either since at least one of us may be your opponent in the semifinals." Chitose pointed out.

"Ah details." Shane shrugged. "So, is it okay if I chill here?"

"Look you…" an annoyed Samantha began.

"It's fine." Alnia told Shane before Samantha could finish, greatly surprising the redhead.

"Thanks." Shane replied as she sat down on the bench next to Alnia. "So, this is quite the show we've got here, huh? A bunch of artifacts and relics duking it out isn't something you see every day."

"Guess not." Alnia responded.

"You okay?" Shane asked her.

"Yeah, just a little worked up is all." Alnia answered.

Meanwhile, Stacy drew her next card. "First I think I'll take a page from your book and activate Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Pyramid Eye Tablet!"

A whirlwind appeared behind Michael's tablet and caused it to shatter apart and crumble. As soon as the pieces turned to dust, Aztec Mask Golem's golden aura faded.

"And now I overlay the level five Moralltach and Beagalltach to Xyz Summon Artifact Durendal!" Stacy announced.

A silver vortex appeared on the center of the field, and the two figures holding the giant mechanical swords vanished. The two swords broke down into their component parts and were pulled into the anomaly. Rising out of the vortex a moment later was a new giant mechanical sword that looked like it was made from the parts of the other two. Two balls of light orbited the sword, one red and one blue. Suddenly a figure made of red and blue light appeared to take hold of the sword.

"Durendal's 2400 ATK should be more than sufficient to defeat Aztec Mask Golem." Stacy declared. "Durendal, attack Aztec Mask Golem! Grand Blade of the Ancients!"

"I activate my Trap, Negate Attack!" Michael announced. "Aztec Mask Golem's not going anywhere this turn!"

The being holding the giant sword swung the weapon and sent forth a massive blade of white light at Michael's monster. At the last second, a vortex appeared in front of Aztec Mask Golem and sucked in the blade of light.

"Well played." Stacy praised. "I guess I'll just set one card on the field and end my turn."

"Wow! This is turning into one heck of a duel!" Yuma declared. "Neither of them has lost a single life point since this thing started."

"True, but Michael still has a big advantage over Stacy." Astral observed. "In summoning her Artifact monsters, Stacy has used up her entire hand."

"Oh yeah. It's kinda like how Anna duels." Yuma recalled.

"Indeed, only there seems to be a little more strategy in how Stacy duels." Astral pointed out.

"Plus she's got that sword monster of hers dominating the field right now." Shark pointed out. "Not only does it have good attack, it's probably got some powerful effects we haven't even seen yet."

Michael drew his next card. "I activate the Spell card, Chronomaly Technology!"

"And at this point I activate one of Durendal's effects!" Stacy announced. "By detaching an overlay unit when an opponent activates a Spell card, that card's effect changes into one that destroys one of my set Spell or Trap cards!"

The blue ball of light orbiting Durendal entered one of the gears on the sword's guard. The being holding the giant sword raised it into the air and the blade glowed with a brilliant white light. Suddenly Stacy's remaining set card exploded, causing a large mechanical scythe made of silver and bronze to fly through the air and stick its blade in the ground. Suddenly lines of purple light appeared on the scythe as its gears began to turn. Materializing to hold the ancient weapon with a longhaired male figure made of purple light.

"The card you just destroyed is Artifact Scythe." Stacy revealed. "And when Scythe is summoned during my opponent's turn, my opponent is unable to summon any monsters from the Extra Deck for the rest of that turn!"

"Which means she just sealed Michael's Xyz Monsters!" Astral realized.

"Okay then. I activate the second effect of Chronomaly Nebra Disk from the Graveyard!" Michael announced. "Since I have at least one Chronomaly monster on the field, I can summon Nebra Disk from the Graveyard!"

A beam of gold light shot up from the ground next to Aztec Mask Golem. The light quickly faded to reveal Michael's ancient stone disk.

"I set one card on the field and end my turn!" Michael announced.

Stacy drew her next card. "Durendal, attack Aztec Mask Golem! Grand Blade of the Ancients!"

"I activate my Trap, Crystal Magnetism!" Michael announced. The illustration of the large Trap card he activated showed the image of a crystal skull flying to attach itself to the neck of a crystal skeleton sitting on a throne. "By paying half my life points, I can use two Chronomaly monsters I have for an Xyz Summon during this turn! I use the level four Aztec Mask Golem and Nebra Disk to Xyz Summon Chronomaly Golden Aztec Golem!"

As Michael's life points dropped to 2000, a large blue vortex appeared in the middle of the battlefield and pulled in Michael's two monsters as balls of blue energy. A pillar of gold light then shot from the center of the vortex, fading to reveal a larger version of Aztec Mask Golem made of gold. On its chest it had a giant mask resembling the face of a leopard with two large green orbs for eyes. Orbiting around the creature were two balls of golden light.

"A-astounding!" a stunned Stacy spoke.

"If you can summon monsters during my turn, then it's only fair that I can do the same." Michael responded. "I activate Golden Aztec Golem's effect! During either player's turn after a Spell or Trap card is activated, I can detach an overlay unit to destroy all special summoned monsters my opponent controls!"

One of the balls of light orbiting the golden golem entered the open mouth of the mask it had on its chest. The mask spewed out a wave of lava that struck all four of Stacy's monsters and melted them down into molten metal.

"Golden Aztec Golem gains 400 ATK for each monster he destroys using his effect." Michael revealed. "Which means his ATK goes up from 2500 to 4100."

"Oh… oh dear." Stacy spoke.

"It's time to finish this!" Michael declared as he drew his next card. "Golden Aztec Golem, attack Stacy directly! Sun God Prominence!"

The golden golem fired a beam of gold energy at Stacy, knocking her onto her back. The lavender-haired girl's life points dropped from 4000 to zero in an instant. With the duel over, Michael's monster vanished and the color of the stadium returned to normal.

"The winner of the third duel is… Michael Arclight!" the referee declared, prompting the audience to cheer.

Meanwhile, Stacy got back up and walked over to Michael. "That was an amazing duel. But there is something I would like to ask you though. You were counting on me to use Durendal's effect on that Spell card you played before, weren't you?"

"To be honest, yeah." Michael admitted as he rubbed the back of his head. "I actually knew all about Durendal's effects from an article I read on the Artifact monsters once. So I activated Chronomaly Technology hoping that you'd respond with Durendal and give me enough monsters to power up Golden Aztec Golem for a final attack."

"I guess I acted a little too recklessly then." Stacy replied. "Still, I enjoyed every bit of our duel."

"Me too. I hope we can have another duel like that sometime." Michael replied as he shook Stacy's hand.

"The final duel of today's preliminary round will be between Gauche and Alnia!" the referee announced. "There will be a ten minute break before the duel starts."

Down in the Death Queens' dugout, Shane's watch began to beep, causing the dark-haired girl to look. "Aw dang! Is it that time already? Sorry ladies, but I've got a little errand to take care of. I'm afraid I can't stick around for the next duel."

"It's no problem." Alnia told her.

"…You're Alnia, right?" Shane suddenly realized. "This might sound weird, but how would you like to swing by my hotel room later tonight?"

"Sure." Alnia agreed.

"Great. Here's where I'm staying." Shane told her as she handed her a slip of paper. "I'll see you later." And with that, Shane walked off.

"Hey Alnia, why are you being so chummy with that girl?" Samantha asked.

"Because she's dueling the Fudo girl in the prelims tomorrow." Alnia explained. "Those Signers could become a real pain in the ass, so I'm going to use Shane to kill Fudo before she has a chance to become a threat."

"A wise strategy." Chitose replied. "At the moment though, you should probably be concerned with the opponent you're about to face."

"Relax, Anitak. This Gauche guy isn't even close to my level." Alnia assured her. "This'll be a piece of cake."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I hope this chapter wasn't boring for anyone. In the planning stages of this story when I was figuring out the prelims, I tried very hard to avoid potential chapters that could be considered filler. At the time though, a little bit of filler seemed unavoidable. Actually if I had been thinking, one thing I could've done was have Miriam from BVP show up as Michael's opponent in an attempt to get to Cleo. Of course there would've been a few problems with that duel. Either way though, it was too late to turn back.

Anyway, the duel for this chapter ended up being a little hard to write. Part of the problem was that I had to come up with a new Xyz Monster for Michael, since all of the current Chronomaly Xyz Monsters are Numbers. In the end the best I could come up with was a powered-up version of Aztec Mask Golem. Despite the difficulties though, it was kind of a fun duel to write because of the whole Chronomaly vs. Artifact concept. By the way, that Trap card Michael used to summon Golden Aztec Golem was a small reference to Indian Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I'm sure a few of you reading probably caught that.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	8. The Grudge of Kul Elna

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.

* * *

Chapter 8: The Grudge of Kul Elna

The break between duels was nearing its end, and while Michael was introducing Stacy to his brother and the rest of the gang the audience members were calmly returning to their seats. The mood up in the stands was very light. Most of the audience members were expecting the next duel to be yet another fun and entertaining battle between two ordinary competitors. Down in one of the dugouts though, Yuma and most of his friends knew that the duel that was about to take place was going to be far from ordinary. Gauche was about to go up against one of the worst enemies they had ever faced since Don Thousand and Morphia.

"Hey Yuma, you okay?" Gauche asked, getting the young duelist's attention. "Ever since the break started, you've looked down in the dumps."

"…Gauche, there's something we have to tell you about your next opponent." Yuma revealed. "Heck, we should've told you about this sooner. Alnia's a Barian."

"Say what?" Gauche responded. "If this is some weird attempt at a joke…"

"It's true." Kaito told him. "Alnia is a Barian. So are Samantha Warren and Chitose Amamiya. The three of them make up a trio called the Barian Death Queens."

"Are… are you serious?" a completely shocked Thomas asked.

"Yeah we are." Shark confirmed. "I guess we just blew your mind there, huh Thomas?"

"Chitose… or rather Anitak, is the one who sent that Team Arcadia gang to kill us former Barians a while back." Alit revealed.

"Um, excuse me. But what are all of you talking about?" Stacy asked.

"It's kind of a long story." Hikari told her. "But you should know that there's a bit more going on than just a simple tournament."

"So what are these Death Queens after?" Michael asked.

"They wish to steal the Numeron Code from me." Astral answered. "But for what purpose, we don't know."

"Maybe they're trying to revive Don Thousand." Michael assumed.

"Don who? I must be missing something, because I'm totally lost here." Stacy cut in.

"What's going on here is a little beyond you." Cleo told Stacy. "Right now it would be best to keep your mouth shut and save your questions for later."

"We don't know what the Death Queens want with the Numeron Code, but Alnia pretty much said that it's not to revive Don Thousand." Yuma answered. "In fact it seems like she and the other Death Queens think that Don Thousand was weak."

"Well whatever they're after, it looks like they'll have to go through me first!" Gauche declared.

"If you were smart Gauche, you'd back out of this duel right now." Kaito told him. "You're no match for Alnia."

"What the hell did you just say?" an angered Gauche asked.

"Droite and I both dueled Alnia a few days ago and she walked all over us." Kaito told him. "She walked all over us."

"Yeah? Well just because Alnia managed to walk all over you, doesn't mean that she'll be able to beat me!" Gauche shot back. "And why the hell did you drag Droite into this anyway?"

"The duel is about to begin!" the referee announced. "Both competitors please report to the stage."

"We'll talk about this more after I win." Gauche told Kaito. "If we face each other in the tournament, I am gonna kick your ass all over that stage!"

With that, Gauche stormed out of the dugout. Kaito sighed and leaned back against the wall.

"Kaito, weren't you a little hard on Gauche just now?" Yuma asked. "I mean who knows? He might actually be able to beat Alnia."

"It sure would save the rest of us a lot of trouble." Shark pointed out.

"Trust me, Alnia is no ordinary opponent." Kaito told them. "If I'm right, she'll walk all over Gauche in this duel."

Gauche meanwhile walked up onto the stage. Alnia was already on the opposite end of the stage looking at him with a wicked grin.

"You know what I hate about prelims?" Alnia asked. "They're all full of wimps. I can see I drew one of those wimps right now."

"Don't think for a second that I'm a pushover." Gauche told her. "I know exactly what you are, and I can tell you that you're no match for me!"

"If you really knew what I was, you'd be pissing your pants right now." Alnia responded with a short dry chuckle.

"The final duel of today's preliminary round will now begin!" the referee announced.

Gauche activated his D-Gazer tattoo and duel disk. Alnia's red eye turned green and her left forearm changed to its Barian form. Appearing on Alnia's transformed arm was a golden blade-like duel disk. As soon as the other spectators activated their D-Gazers, the color of the surrounding area changed.

"I'll go first." Alnia announced as she drew her first card. "I summon Cursed Canopic Jar in Defense Mode!"

Appearing on Alnia's side of the battlefield was a ceramic jar that was painted black and gold with ornate designs. The lid of this jar looked like the skull of a goat with large curved horns wearing an Egyptian headdress.

"I'll end my turn there." Alnia announced.

Gauche drew his next card. "Since you have a monster on the field while I don't, I special summon Heroic Challenger – Assault Halberd!"

Appearing on Gauche's side of the battlefield was a warrior clad completely in blue and white armor. His left hand was a weapon with three blades.

"I also summon Heroic Challenger – Spartan in Attack Mode!" Gauche announced.

Materializing next to the first warrior that Gauche had summoned was a warrior with green eyes clad in gold and white Roman armor with a helmet and red cape. In his right hand he wielded a spear, and with his left he carried a large red shield.

"When Assault Halberd attacks a monster in Defense Mode, he inflicts piercing damage on my opponent." Gauche informed Alnia. "Since that little jar of yours has only 200 DEF points, you're about to take 1600 points of damage!"

"If you're so sure about that, then attack me." Alnia dared.

"You asked for it!" Gauche shot back. "Assault Halberd! Break that jar into bits!"

The blue armored warrior charged across the field and struck the jar with his blades. The jar shattered to pieces and a cloud of black mist suddenly burst out of it and hit Gauche and his two monsters like a wave. Assault Halberd's armor had become covered in rust, as did Spartan's armor. Spartan's cape had also become tattered and his limbs had lost all muscle mass. Meanwhile, Gauche's life points had fallen to 2400.

"What the hell!" Gauche exclaimed. "What just happened here?"

"When Cursed Canopic Jar is destroyed by my opponent, its miasma is released and reduces the ATK of all my opponent's monsters by 600." Alnia explained. "That same miasma also negates any effects those monsters have while they're on the field. Plus, any damage I would take in battles involving Cursed Canopic Jar is given to my opponent instead. That's what you get for breaking such a sacred relic."

"Man! That's one nasty card!" Shark declared.

"Alnia has even more cards like that in her deck." Kaito informed the others. "Now you know why I tried to tell Gauche to drop out of this duel."

"I'm sure Gauche still has a pretty good chance in this duel." Yuma declared. "But I have to wonder, what the heck is a canopic jar?"

"Canopic jars were used in Ancient Egyptian mummification to store the organs of the deceased." Stacy explained. "I have to say, from an archeological standpoint this duel is turning out to be quite fascinating."

"Seems kinda gross, if you ask me." Yuma responded.

"You may have sucker punched me just now, but I've still got one attack left!" Gauche told Alnia. "Spartan, attack her directly! Spartan Spear!"

The Roman warrior threw his spear across the field at Alnia. The white-haired duelist was struck in the chest and her life points dropped to 3000. Soon after, the spear vanished and reappeared in Spartan's hand.

"Are you done yet?" an unfazed Alnia asked.

Gauche gritted his teeth in irritation. "I set one card face-down and end my turn!"

"Gauche really isn't doing too well, is he?" Kotori observed up in the stands.

"It'll probably only get worse from here." Droite assumed. "Gauche is starting to lose his temper, which means he'll probably do something extremely reckless before this duel is over."

Alnia drew her next card. "I activate the Spell card, Shifting Darkness! By shuffling three Dark monsters in my hand back into my deck, I can add three new Dark monsters to my hand. Next I summon Slave Mummy in Attack Mode!"

Appearing on Alnia's side of the field was a desiccated Egyptian mummy with tattered brown wrappings and a skeletal face. Around the mummy's neck was a large black shackle with a large black chain hanging down from the back. The mummy's wrists and ankles also had black shackles with chains hanging from them.

"I activate Slave Mummy's effect!" Alnia announced. "By sacrificing him, I can special summon a Dark monster from my hand! I summon Archfiend Scarab Solider!"

The mummy instantly shattered to dust that soon formed into a whirlwind on Alnia's side of the field. The whirlwind soon subsided to reveal a large black insect-like demon that stood on two legs and had a large black beetle shell on its back. The creature had a skeletal face with red eyes, and on its head was a golden helmet. It had four arms, two of which held onto a golden spear. Hanging down in front of the creature's waist from a golden belt was a tattered off-white breechcloth.

"When Scarab Solider is special summoned to the field, I can summon another one from my hand." Alnia announced. A second insect demon appeared next to the first. "And since that Scarab Solider was just special summoned, I can summon a third."

A third scarab demon appeared on the field by the other two. All three Scarab Soliders hissed at Gauche from across the field.

"Alnia now has three level six monsters on the field!" Astral realized.

"Using my three level six monsters, I build the overlay network and Xyz Summon my most powerful monster!" Alnia announced. "Arise, Number 666: Archfiend Pharaoh Lucifer!"

The sky rumbled with thunder and quickly became covered in thick dark clouds as a massive vortex in the form of a red galaxy appeared in the center of the battlefield. Alnia's three scarab warriors changed into balls of red energy that were pulled into the vortex. Rising out of the vortex a moment later was an object made of brown stone and had three balls of golden light orbiting it. The object looked similar to the lid of a sarcophagus. Carved into this lid were strangely shaped holes made to fit seven unknown objects.

"Wait a second! I've seen a drawing of that tablet before!" Stacy recalled as she looked at the object from the vortex.

"You have?" a surprised Michael asked.

Stacy nodded. "It was a drawing my father did based on lots of research he did. One of the names for it is the Tablet of the Underworld. The legends behind it say that the person who fits the sacred objects made for the holes in the tablet can either open a door to the afterlife or make a contract with a demon that could engulf the world in eternal darkness."

The tablet that Stacy identified exploded and spread a cloud of dust over the battlefield. The dust quickly settled to reveal a humanoid demon clad almost completely in black armor with gold trim. He had a dark-grey skull-like face with sharp yellow teeth, and his right eye while red while his left eye was a piece of gold that looked like a strange version of the wadjet eye. On his head, the demon wore a gold and black headdress of a pharaoh, and on his chin was a gold and black fake beard that was also sometimes worn by the Ancient Egyptian kings. Hanging from his neck by a silver chain was a gold ring-shaped pendant with a triangular piece in the center that bore a symbol similar to the demon's artificial eye and five pointed ornaments hanging from the lower half. On the demon's back was a pair of large red-feathered wings, and in his right hand he held a gold scepter with a ball at the top that had two blades on the side and the same eye-like symbol as his artificial eye. Glowing in red alien writing on the demon's left shoulder plate was the number 666.

" _That's_ Alnia's Number?" a stunned Shark asked.

"It sure looks pretty tough." Yuma observed.

"I don't believe it! Alnia's monster has three of the relics related to the Tablet of the Underworld!" Stacy observed.

"It does?" Thomas asked.

Again, Stacy nodded. "The monster's artificial eye, the pendant hanging from his neck, and his scepter are all three of the seven relics made for the tablet. They're called Millennium Items."

"And these items you speak of were used as keys for that tablet?" Mizael asked.

"That was one of their purposes, yes." Stacy confirmed. "The other purpose was to allow their users to cast magic and summon monsters to do battle. In fact those very battles are said to be the inspiration for Duel Monsters."

"Stacy, just where is this tablet you're talking about supposed to be located in Egypt?" Kaito asked.

"Well the tablet's gone now." Stacy revealed. "It was supposedly destroyed when the shrine it was housed in collapsed many years ago, along with the Millennium Items. But originally it was said to be in a little village called Kul Elna."

"Kul Elna? Alnia mentioned that village when Droite and I dueled her!" Kaito recalled.

"I activate one of Lucifer's effects!" Alnia announced. "By detaching an overlay unit, I can look at my opponent's hand and pick a monster from it to equip to Lucifer! Millennium Eye, reveal the secrets of this loser's hand!"

One of the balls of light orbiting the demon pharaoh entered his golden eye. Suddenly large images of the three cards in Gauche's hand appeared in the air behind them. One of the cards showed a warrior covered completely in thick blue armor and carrying a large iron hammer in both his hands.

"Not bad I guess." Alnia remarked. "Okay, I pick Heroic Challenger – War Hammer to equip to Lucifer!"

A beam of gold light shot from Lucifer's Millennium Eye and struck the large card showing War Hammer. A gold shield with a tablet of tan stone fitted into the front appeared in the demon pharaoh's left hand. The War Hammer card changed into a ball of gold light that flew into the tablet on the shield. Appearing on the tablet was a carving that looked like War Hammer.

"What the hell was the point of that?" Gauche asked. "Equipping Lucifer with War Hammer didn't seem to do anything!"

"It'll become clear soon enough." Alnia told him. "Then again, it looks like this duel may just end before you can find out. Lucifer, attack Spartan! Millennium Ruin!"

"Not so fast! I activate my Trap, Negate Attack!" Gauche announced.

The demon pharaoh took aim at Spartan with his scepter and fired a massive ball of black energy that crackled with golden electricity. Before the attack could hit though, a vortex appeared in front of Spartan and sucked the blast in.

"Ah well. I'll set one card on the field and end my turn." Alnia announced.

"Alnia!" Astral called from the dugout, getting the Death Queen's attention.

"Well hey there, envoy. Enjoying the show?" Alnia mockingly asked.

"Just whom is Alnia talking to?" Stacy asked.

"I told you before to be silent and ask questions later." Cleo told her.

"Kaito said that you mentioned the name of an Egyptian Village to him when he dueled you." Astral continued. "The village of Kul Elna. Is that where you lived in your past life as a human?"

"So you wanna know about my past life, huh?" Alnia responded. "Well… I guess it's only fair that I tell you since Anitak and Mitaka spilled their guts about what they were before. I was indeed a simple peasant girl that little village, a village stained in blood and now forgotten about by the people of this world."

"Stained in blood?" Astral repeated with a quirked brow. "Are you saying the village was massacred?"

At this question, Alnia's expression darkened. "Originally my people were the builders of the royal tombs. But we fell on hard times, so to survive my people began to loot the very tombs they helped to construct. Kul Elna quickly gained the reputation as the Village of Thieves. Everyone in the kingdom looked down on us as vermin. Then one day the pharaoh ordered the forging of mystical treasures for the protection of the kingdom, but there was a cost to make those treasures. Ninety-nine human lives had to be sacrificed, so the pharaoh picked a village that nobody would miss, mine.

"In a single night almost every man, woman and child in my village was slaughtered. Their flesh was transmuted into the molten gold that was used to forge the great treasures that would be called the Millennium Items. The pharaoh who ordered that atrocity was the father of the pharaoh whose likeness is on that damn tablet we were shown before this tournament started! The very same pharaoh whose spirit used Yugi Muto as a vessel! The blood of my people is on the hands of him and his whole damn family, and yet he's remembered as a freaking saint!"

"So… you were killed to make those Millennium Items you're talking about?" Yuma asked.

"…Actually, in a way I was a little luckier than the rest of my people." Alnia replied. "Being a pretty young thing, a couple of the pharaoh's soldiers decided to try and have their way with me before killing me for base material. I managed to get away, though not before one of those two bastards managed to cut me pretty badly with his sword. I was still able to run as far away from the village as possible. I wandered through the desert a while after that, but eventually the blood loss got to me and I died alone and quickly forgotten. Before I did though, I came across the very Number card that I'm using in this duel. Later on I was reborn as a Barian and gained knowledge of what came after my people were slaughtered."

"Oh man… that's pretty messed up." Shark declared.

"I actually feel sorry for Alnia." Hikari admitted.

"So that's my story, envoy. What do you think?" Alnia asked.

"Alnia… the story of your past life saddens me." Astral admitted. "In many ways, it is more tragic than the former lives of the Seven Emperors. But it does not excuse the actions you and the other Death Queens have taken! I must ask you now, why do you wish to possess the Numeron Code? Is it so you can change the outcome of your former life for the better, or something else?"

At this, Alnia burst out laughing. "Change my past life? I'll admit that's an interesting idea. But I don't give a shit about my past anymore! The only thing my comrades and I want now is vengeance! Vengeance against that damn pharaoh and the whole human race! And to get that, we're going to use the Numeron Code to revive the great demon god that Millennium Items were forged to make a contract with! Zorc Necrophades!"

"This Alnia girl's nuts!" Stacy declared. "At the very least she's delusional!"

"You're actually a bit wrong about her being delusional, but you are right about one thing. She really is nuts." Kaito declared.

"Unfortunately, Zorc was defeated by that damn pharaoh many years ago." Alnia continued. "But once I have the Numeron Code in hand, I can bring him back to plunge this damn world into eternal darkness!"

"You really are one screwed up bitch, you know that?" Gauche spoke, regaining Alnia's attention. "There's one big problem with this plan of yours. You'll have to go through Yuma and Astral to get the Numeron Code, and before you can get to them you have to go through me first! And that's not gonna happen!"

"Please, a duelist like you is nothing before my power." Alnia declared. "You'll be lucky not to come out of this duel a corpse!"

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I'm actually a little surprised that no one reading seemed to pick up that Alnia was from Kul Elna in her past life. She even mentioned it in the final chapter of _The Heartland Witch_. Anyway, when I came up with the concept of the Barian Death Queens I wanted them all to have past lives that were far more tragic than the past lives of the Barian Emperors in order to make them more vengeful. The idea of one of them being a Kul Elna "survivor" seemed perfect.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	9. A Hopeless Struggle

**Author's Note:** I had wanted to get this chapter up this past Sunday, but instead I spent that whole afternoon mowing the lawn and helping my dad cut down a dead tree in our front yard. Then after that I had a whole bunch of research I had to do for my current online class this week, so I got pretty behind where I wanted to be on this thing. Ah well. Stuff happens, I guess.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.

* * *

Chapter 9: A Hopeless Struggle

"It's my move!" Gauche declared as he drew his next card. "I'm going to end this duel right here and now!"

"Have we been playing the same duel?" Alnia sarcastically asked. "In case you haven't noticed, I have you completely at my mercy."

"Guess again, because the tables are about to turn!" Gauche declared. "I summon Heroic Challenger – Extra Sword in Attack Mode!"

Appearing on the battlefield by Gauche's other two warriors was a warrior clad completely in green and yellow-green armor with spiked shoulders. In each of his hands he carried a large sword.

"And now I use my three level four monsters to Xyz Summon Heroic Champion – Kusinagi!" Gauche announced.

A red vortex appeared in the center of the battlefield and pulled in Gauche's three warriors as balls of orange energy. Emerging from the center of the vortex moments later was an extremely large warrior clad in orange and dark-red samurai armor. He had three balls of orange light orbiting around him, and in his right hand he carried a sword with a single long flame as the blade.

"Thanks to Extra Sword, Kusinagi's ATK rises from 2500 to 3500!" Gauche announced. "But I'm not done there! I equip Kusinagi with the Spell card, Magnum Shield!"

Suddenly a piece of armor appeared and attached itself to Kusinagi's right upper arm. The armor in question was a red shield with gold trim. On each end of the shield was a pointed blade adorned with a small red gem.

"Since he's equipped with Magnum Shield, Kusinagi gains ATK equal to his DEF." Gauche announced. "Which means his ATK has now gone up to 5900!"

"Am I supposed to be impressed?" Alnia asked. "You can power up that monster as much as you want, but in the end it won't make a difference."

"I'm afraid Alnia's right." Durbe remarked up in the stands. "Kusinagi may have more ATK than Lucifer at the moment, but Lucifer is still a Number. Which means that Gauche can't destroy him in battle."

"At least he can take out most of Alnia's life points." Gilag pointed out.

"Actually, if everything goes exactly right, Gauche may actually win this thing." Droite told them.

"What do you mean?" Kotori asked.

"Gauche is hoping that Alnia will activate that face-down card she has on the field to block the damage from Kusinagi's attack." Droite explained. "If that card is a Trap, Gauche can activate Kusinagi's effect to negate it and boost his ATK even higher. If that's what happens, the damage from Kusinagi's attack would bring Alnia's life points down to zero."

"That really is a good move." Anna agreed.

"It is a pretty big gamble, but it just might be crazy enough to work." Droite replied.

"Kusinagi, attack Lucifer!" Gauche commanded. "Heroic Flame Sword!"

"I activate my Trap, Imperial Number Flash!" Alnia announced. The large card she activated showed an illustration of Lucifer standing in front of a shining golden light. "Since I have a Number on the field, this card negates your attack and inflicts damage equal to my Number's DEF, meaning you'll take 1800 points of damage!"

"You did just what I wanted you to!" Gauche smirked. "I activate Kusinagi's effect! By detaching an overlay unit, I can negate your Trap and boost Kusinagi's ATK even higher!"

Suddenly Kusinagi's body gave off sparks of red electricity. At the same time, Gauche's duel disk sparked with the same red electricity, causing him to pull his hand back.

"Hey! What gives?" Gauche demanded to know.

At this, Alnia grinned. "You dumb ape. When Imperial Number Flash is activated, my opponent can't activate any cards in response! Meaning all you've done is dig your gave even deeper!"

Just as Kusinagi was about to swing down his flaming blade, a blinding flash of golden light radiated from Lucifer's body. A wave of energy radiated out over the entire battlefield and pushed Kusinagi back. The wave also struck Gauche and nearly knocked him off the edge of the stage. His life points had dropped to a mere 600.

"Dang! It really looked like Gauche had her there just now!" Yuma observed.

"It's like a said before. Alnia is on a whole other level as a duelist." Kaito told the others.

"So are you done, or are you going to try flexing your muscles for a bit longer?" Alnia asked.

"Dammit!" Gauche cursed. "I… end my turn."

"Good! I'm starting to get bored with this duel." Alnia declared as she drew her next card. "I now activate Lucifer's third and final effect! By detaching an overlay unit, I can call forth a portion of Lord Zorc's power from the Millennium Ring and cast the die of fate!"

One of the balls of golden light orbiting the demon pharaoh entered the ring-shaped pendant hanging from his neck. The eye on the front of the pendant shot out another ball of gold light that stopped halfway across the battlefield and changed into a large red six-sided die. The one-side bore the same eye-like symbol as the Millennium Items.

"Here's how this works." Alnia began. "On my command, the die will roll. If the result is a one, two or three, all cards on your side of the field will be destroyed. But if the result is a four, five or six, all the cards on my side of the field will be destroyed."

"Pretty risky betting the whole duel on a fifty-fifty bet like that." Gauche told her.

"We'll see." Alnia replied.

"That Alnia girl sure is confident." Anna remarked. "A bit too overconfident if you ask me."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Vector spoke. "I think this little game of chance Alnia is playing is rigged."

"What makes you think that?" Durbe asked.

"Alnia doesn't strike me as the kind of person who'd use such a risky effect unless she knew she could win using it." Vector answered. "How ever this game of chance is rigged, I think it has something to do with that other effect Lucifer used earlier."

"You mean that effect that allowed her to equip a monster in Gauche's hand to Lucifer?" Durbe asked.

Vector nodded. "Lucifer hasn't gained any boosts in ATK or DEF from having War Hammer equipped to him, so there must be another reason why he'd have an effect like that."

"Go, die roll!" Alnia commanded. "Reveal to us the path of fate this duel will follow!"

The large die stopped hovering and struck the ground with a loud clack. It bounced off the stage floor and rolled to land with the five-side facing up.

"A five, huh?" Guahce observed with a smirk. "Too bad."

"Yeah, for you." Alnia responded. "When Lucifer would be destroyed while he's equipped with an opponent's monster, the monster equipped to him is destroyed instead and my opponent takes half that monster's ATK as damage!"

"What!" Gauche exclaimed.

Suddenly an explosion burst up from the ground under Lucifer. The demon pharaoh was unharmed, but the stone shield he held baring War Hammer's likeness shattered to pieces. The larger stone pieces of the shield flew across the field and struck Gauche with enough force that he was knocked off the stage. Gauche hit the ground as the little life points he had dropped to zero. With the duel at an end, Lucifer vanished and the sky above the stadium cleared. Yuma and most of the other competitors ran over to Gauche's side to find that he had been knocked unconscious.

"Hey ref! Aren't you forgetting something?" Alnia asked the stunned referee.

"Uh… oh! Right." The referee responded. "The winner of the final duel of today's preliminary round is… Alnia!"

There was a very mixed reaction from the large audience up in the stands. A few of the spectators cheered while most others merely talked amongst themselves. They could tell that there was something off about the duel they had just witnessed. Alnia meanwhile rejoined the other two Death Queens in the dugout.

"Well that was a slam dunk." Samantha remarked. "I would've thought that guy, Gauche would've been more of a challenge since he's some big-shot pro duelist."

"It's like I was saying before, these prelims are always full of wimps." Alnia replied. "Of course the second round won't be much better for me, since I'll be up against Chronomaly boy."

"It seems though that you've found a way to entertain yourself a bit in tomorrow's matches." Chitose interjected. "At least I assume that's the reason why you were so friendly with Ms. Ford before when she was here."

"The two of you should be more worried about your own duels." Alnia told her two subordinates. "As I recall, Anitak, you got your ass handed to you the last time you dueled that idiot, Alit."

"That will not happen this time." Chitose assured her. "This time I will crush Alit once and for all."

"You better." Alnia replied before turning to Samantha. "As for you, Mitaka, I don't know what issues you have with the other Arclight brother, but you better not lose to him!"

"Don't worry Alnia. There's no way in hell I'll let Thomas Arclight get the better of me." Samantha assured her. "Of course if both Ani and I win, that would mean we'd be facing each other in the next round. What're we supposed to do if that happens?"

"What the hell do I care?" Alnia replied. "Figure it out on your own time. Right now, let's just get the hell out of here."

"The first duel of tomorrow's preliminary round will be between Yuma Tsukumo and Kaito Tenjo!" the referee announced. "The duel will begin at noon sharp!"

* * *

After the duel, the medics at the stadium had quickly arrived and had taken Gauche to the hospital. Yuma and the rest of the gang went to the hospital as well to see if Gauche was okay. As they waited for a doctor to arrive and deliver some sort of news, Michael and Cleo used the time to tell Stacy about what was truly going on in the Millennium Tournament.

"This… this all sounds so preposterous!" Stacy declared after Michael and Cleo finished their explanation. "Inter-dimensional aliens? Reincarnation? Do you honestly expect me to believe all this?"

"I know it might seem hard to believe, but it's the truth." Michael assured her. "I've been dealing with this stuff for most of my life."

"And a code that can be used to alter the very fabric of reality?" Stacy continued. "I'm sorry, but this all just farfetched."

"You can believe whatever you wish." Cleo told her. "You asked for an explanation and we've given it to you."

"Now that we've clued Stacy in, what the heck are we going to do about Alnia?" Shark asked. "She's definitely one of the toughest duelists I've ever seen."

"Not to mention the craftiest." Vector added. "Her deck's loaded with a lot of tricky cards."

"At this point, it looks like it's up to me to come up with a way to beat her." Michael pointed out. "Since I'm up against her in the next round."

"You better be careful against her, Michael." Yuma told him.

"I'll be fine, Yuma." Michael assured him. "Right now, you should be more worried about your next duel."

"Oh yeah… good point." Yuma replied as he looked over at Kaito. The photon duelist looked back at him with a serious expression.

At that point, a male doctor with dark thinning hair and glasses entered the waiting room. "I understand all of you are here about Mr. Gauche?"

"How is he, doctor?" Droite asked.

"He should be fine." The doctor answered. "The fall didn't hurt him that badly. Though because of the head injury, we're going to play it safe and keep him here overnight for observation. You can all see him in a few minutes once we've moved him to his room, though I do ask you to keep your visits short."

"Thanks, doctor." Droite replied.

With that, the doctor nodded and left the room. When he was gone, Kaito stepped forward.

"Droite and I will go visit Gauche first." Kaito decided. "Once we've all seen him, we should go home and get some rest. And Yuma, I expect you to be sharp for our duel tomorrow."

"Don't worry, Kaito! Astral and I will both be ready!" Yuma assured him. "And whatever happens, I know we're gonna have a blast!"

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Sorry for the rather short chapter. Part of it has to do with how the duel between Gauche and Alnia was originally only going to be a single chapter. Plus I confess I didn't really have it in me to do a real long chapter because of all the stuff that's been going on with me this part week.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	10. A Sleepless Night

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.

* * *

Chapter 10: A Sleepless Night

The cloak of night had fallen upon the city of Heartland, bringing the first day of the Millennium Tournament to a close. Yet while of the people of the city were starting to turn in for the night, many of those involved in the tournament were still wide awake. Alit was pacing in front of the door to Mizael's room. The boxer duelist had something he wanted to ask Mizael, but was a bit afraid to bother the dragon tamer, especially when the evening was growing late. Just as Alit was about to try knocking on Mizael's door for the fifth time, Gilag walked up the stairs and found him.

"Hey Alit, what're you doing?" Gilag asked.

"I'm trying to work up the nerve to ask Mizael for a favor." Alit answered.

"I think right now you'd be trying to get some sleep or checking over your deck." Gilag replied. "After all, you've got a pretty big duel tomorrow. And it's against one of the Death Queens too."

"I know, and that's why I want to ask Mizael for this favor." Alit told him. "The problem is I'm not sure disturbing Mizael right now would be a real good idea. He's probably in a bad mood after getting taken down in the prelims."

"Then ask him tomorrow morning." Gilag suggested. "He's bound to be in a better mood after getting a good night's sleep."

"Yeah, but this isn't the kind of thing that can wait until morning." Alit told him. "This thing I want Mizael's help with might just give me the edge I need over Anitak."

At that moment, the door to Mizael's room opened and the blonde stuck his head out. "What the devil are you idiots doing talking outside my room at this hour?"

"Uh, hey Mizael." Alit nervously responded. "I was wondering if you could do me a small favor."

"What sort of favor?" Mizael asked.

"Well you see…" Alit began. "I was wondering if you could show me how to summon one of those Shining Numbers like the one you used against Cleo."

"That's it?" Mizael asked.

"Yeah. You know I'm up against Anitak tomorrow." Alit reminded him. "So I'm going to need every advantage I can get. Will you help me?"

Mizael looked at Alit thoughtfully for a moment. "…Very well. I can tell you how I called forth the power to create a Shining Number, but it may not be of any help to you."

"I'll give it a shot anyway." Alit told him.

"Alright then. Let's go down to the kitchen to talk." Mizael decided.

* * *

Kaito was leaning against the wall of one of the corridors in Heartland Tower by the doors to a lab. The lab was the one used by Kaito's father, Dr. Faker. The former mad scientist had called Kaito over because he was almost done with a certain set of items that his son had asked him to make. After a little over ten minutes of waiting, the electric steel doors to the lab opened and the old redheaded scientist walked out. In his hands he carried a thin black metal case.

"Are they done?" Kaito asked.

"These are the cards you asked for." Dr. Faker answered as his thumb pressed a button on the side of the case.

The mechanical lid of the case opened to reveal a pair of cards inside. Kaito took the cards out of the case to examine them.

"Both of these cards are prototypes, of course. But they should work as we have designed." Dr. Faker continued.

"This tournament will be the perfect test for both of these cards." Kaito replied. "At the very least, the one card should be able to overcome Alnia's Number. Thank you, father."

"Kaito, are you certain you truly need these cards?" the concerned scientist asked.

"It's merely a precaution." Kaito replied. "At the very least, they'll help me against the Death Queens. Still, I hope I'll never have to use these cards for the purpose we designed them for."

"So do I." Dr. Faker agreed. "Of course at this stage, we're not even sure these cards will work."

"We'll find out soon enough." Kaito replied. "Yuma should make the perfect test subject."

* * *

Alnia made her way to the hotel room that Shane was staying in. The white-haired Death Queen was actually looking forward to this little visit. It was the perfect chance to relieve the tension she was still feeling after seeing Mizael's Shining Number. Alnia didn't know why, but she felt like that Number was a great threat to her and the other Death Queens. She was just glad that Yuma, Astral and the other former Barian Emperors still in the tournament didn't also have Shining Numbers of their own.

Upon reaching the door, Alnia knocked. After a moment, Shane opened the door wearing nothing but a white towel. Her dark hair was quite wet, indicating that she had only just gotten out of the shower.

"Oh hi there." Shane greeted. "I was wondering if you were going to stop by."

"Hope you don't mind me coming by so late." Alnia replied as Shane let her in.

"Not at all." Shane assured her. "Make yourself at home."

Alnia made her way over to the long grey couch in the room while Shane made her way to the little kitchen. As she sat down, the white-haired girl noticed Shane's deck sitting on the coffee table. With a flash of red light, a Diablo Force card appeared in Alnia's hand. Alnia quickly slipped the card into Shane's deck and sat back on the couch. One of her reasons for coming over was now taken care of. With business done, it was now time for pleasure.

"Sorry I can't offer much in the way of refreshments." Shane spoke as she came back over with a can of an energy drink in each hand. "I hope you like…"

Before Shane could finish her sentence, Alnia pulled off her towel to reveal her nude form. A blush came to the dark-haired girl's face as Alnia took her in.

"You did ask me over here to try and get me into the sack, right?" Alnia asked.

"Well… I was thinking we'd get to know each other first and see where things went." Shane replied. "But yeah, I was kind of hoping this might lead to something like that."

"Well, lucky for you I happen to swing both ways." Alnia informed her. "And I've had kind of a tense afternoon, so I'm going to give you want you want."

"You're saying you…" Shane began.

Before she could finish, Alnia quickly removed her black vest and red shirt, revealing her bare breasts. Shane's jaw dropped and her hands let go of the two cans she was holding, causing them to fall to the floor.

"I'm all yours." Alnia told her. "Go ahead, do me."

After a moment, Shane smirked and went over to plant a firm kiss on Alnia's lips. The kiss quickly deepened and soon their tongues were clashing for dominance. When they broke for air after a few moments, Shane began sucking on Alnia's neck, causing a moan to escape the white-haired girl's lips. Shane slowly moved down until she reached her right breast. The dark-haired girl began to suck on Alnia's breast and toy with the nipple using her tongue, while at the same time her hand began to massage the white-haired girl's left breast.

Alnia was lost in pleasure as she felt all the tension from that afternoon melt away. Eventually, Shane ceased toying with Alnia's beasts and left a trail of flaming kisses down her naked abs. After a few moments, Shane quickly undid Alnia's belt and pulled her jean shorts and panties and tossed them away. With the obstructing garments out of the way, Shane moved in and began to probe Alnia's moist womanhood with her tongue. Alnia let out a deep moan and held Shane's head in place so she could buck her hips to help herself along.

After a blissful eternity, Alnia climaxed into Shane's mouth. She let out a contented sigh and slumped onto the couch. All the tension from that afternoon was completely gone.

Shane moved back up and planted a small kiss on Alnia's cheek. "So… how was I?"

"Good." Alnia answered. "Now… how 'bout I return the favor? Get behind the couch."

Smiling, Shane got to her feet and moved behind the couch as Alnia requested. Alnia got off the couch and got right behind her. She gently pushed the dark-haired girl forward so she was leaning against the back of the couch with her arms. Alnia pushed three fingers into Shane's opening, causing her to moan and her eyes to shoot right open. At the same time, Alnia's left hand began to massage Shane's left breast. As Alnia pushed her fingers in and out of Shane, a pair of red angelic wings appeared on her back. Alnia's body began to crackle with crimson electricity as she transformed into her Barian form. That same energy flowed into Shane, sending her to even greater heights of pleasure.

"Oh god! It's so… so hot!" Shane moaned, completely unaware of what Alnia was becoming.

By the time Alnia finished her transformation, Shane came to a hard climax. Her eyes practically rolled to the back of her head as she fell forward and passed out over the back of the couch.

"She was really pretty good." Alnia remarked as the clothes she wore in her Barian form appeared with a red flash. "I may end up keeping her around as a concubine after Lord Zorc's revival."

With that, a vortex in the form of a galaxy appeared behind Alnia. Once the Death Queen walked through the portal it closed behind her, leaving Shane completely alone in the room.

* * *

Thomas walked through the city streets with his hands buried in his pockets. He was taking a long walk to try and clear his head, though he wasn't having very much luck. No matter how hard he tried, he could not get Samantha out of his head. He had been stuck on her ever since that night she had come over to his apartment. Now by some bizarre twist of fate, Thomas was going to have to face her as an enemy.

As Thomas turned a corner on the sidewalk, he nearly bumped into Samantha who seemed to be walking in the opposite direction. The two of them practically froze upon seeing one another.

"Uh… hi." Thomas spoke.

"What the hell do you want?" Samantha demanded to know.

"I… I want to know what the deal with you is!" Thomas told her. "Ryoga and the others said you're an enemy. Is that true?"

"So you want to know if I'm really your enemy?" Samantha asked back. "Maybe this will answer your question."

With that, a pair of black angelic wings appeared on Samantha's back. Soon after, the redhead became enveloped in a pillar of red energy that faded to reveal her in her true Barian form. Her body was now colored a rosy pink, and the left side of her mask-like face was covered in gold. Her fingers ended with sharp white nails, and embedded in each of her shoulders was a spherical red gemstone. On her rear end was a long thin tail that ended in a point like the tail of a demon, and growing atop her head was a pair of small gold horns. On her chest was a piece of golden armor with white trim that had a spherical red gem in the center of a symbol that looked similar to the Barian Emblem. Hanging around her waist was a short golden skirt with a slit in the right side, kept in place by a white belt with a golden buckle adorned with a red gem.

"So it really is true… you're really a Barian." Thomas observed.

"Sorry to disappoint you." Mitaka replied. "Actually no, I'm not."

"So what was that other night about then?" Thomas asked.

"If you must know, I was going to turn you into a pawn to use for destroying Kotori Mizuki." Mitaka answered. "Getting her out of the picture was the easiest way to get into Yuma Tsukumo's pants and steal the Numeron Code."

"Well if you were going to use me as a pawn, then why didn't you?" Thomas asked.

"…In the end, I guess I decided you weren't strong enough for the job." Mitaka answered after a moment. "You're actually a pretty pathetic duelist."

"You really think so, huh? Well I'll show you how powerful I really am tomorrow!" Thomas declared.

"Go ahead and try." Mitaka dared. "I'm looking forward to seeing you make an idiot out of yourself."

With that, a portal in the form of a galaxy appeared behind Mitaka and she walked through it. Thomas stayed to watch the portal close. When it was gone, Thomas decided to head back to his apartment and get some sleep. He was going to have a rough day ahead of him.

* * *

Yuma was lying in his hammock looking up at the ceiling. He was finding it impossible to get to sleep knowing whom his first opponent was going to be in the tournament. As Yuma gazed up at the ceiling, Astral emerged from the Emperor's Key.

"Are you okay Yuma?" Astral asked.

"Yeah. I guess I'm just nervous about my duel with Kaito tomorrow." Yuma answered. "We've never been able to beat him before."

"Indeed. Kaito is one of the most formable duelists I know." Astral agreed. "Still, both of us have grown stronger since those times we dueled him."

"Sure, but Kaito's gotten stronger too." Yuma pointed out. "If we can't beat him, then we can't get to Alnia."

"Then this next duel is a test for us." Astral realized. "If we cannot surpass Kaito in tomorrow's duel, then there is no way we can surpass Alnia."

"Then I guess we better beat Kaito then." Yuma replied.

"Indeed." Astral agreed. "But we will not be able to defeat him if you are not rested. I may not require sleep, but you do."

"Yeah, you're right." Yuma agreed. "Goodnight, Astral."

"Goodnight, Yuma." Astral replied.

With that, Astral went back into the Emperor's Key. Yuma closed his eyes and tried to put his duel with Kaito out of his mind. Before he knew it, Yuma had drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I actually had a pretty long debate with myself about whether or not to include the scene with Alnia and Shane. In the end though, I decided to go ahead and do it since it seemed like I had pretty much committed myself in one of the earlier chapters. Anyway, it's probably going to be a few days before I'll get the next chapter up. It's not just because of the stuff I have to do for my online class, but because I want to make sure I do the next duel right. It's a big duel, so I want to take my time and make sure it lives up to everyone's expectations including my own.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	11. Fated Rivals

**Author's Note:** I know I said this chapter would take a while to get up, but I had not intended for this long of a delay. This time the delay wasn't so much caused by my online class as it was by all this yard work I had to do over the course of last week. This is one of the reasons why I don't like summer.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.

* * *

Chapter 11: Fated Rivals

It was the second day of the preliminary round, and the duel between Yuma and Kaito was only moments away. The stadium was already packed with fans eager to see the two duelists face off. Many of the people watching still remembered Yuma and Kaito from their performance in the World Duel Carnival. Kotori, Droite, Cathy and Anna were back up in the stands along with most of the former Barians. Rio, Mizael and Stacy were there as well, as they had been knocked out of the tournament. Yuma and Astral meanwhile were silently waiting down in the dugout with most of the other competitors. They had hardly said two words to Kaito since they arrived at the stadium, but that moment was not the time for words.

"You okay, Yuma?" Hikari asked, stirring the young duelist from his thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm good." Yuma assured her. "I'm just a little excited and nervous about my duel with Kaito. I think Astral's the same way."

"I didn't think you were the type to get nervous." Hikari told the energy being.

"Kaito is the strongest duelist Yuma and I have encountered to date." Astral replied. "We've never won against him."

"Well maybe this time will be different." Hikari told them.

"We'll find out pretty soon." Yuma replied.

"The next duel between Yuma Tsukumo and Kaito Tenjo will now commence!" the referee announced. "Will both duelists please step onto the stage?"

With that, Yuma headed for the stage with Astral and Kaito. Once they took their positions on what would soon become a battlefield, Yuma and Kaito looked each other in the eye.

"Yuma… this duel between us was bound to happen sooner or later." Kaito spoke. "In fact I've actually been looking forward to this day."

"Same here." Yuma replied. "I was hardly able to get any sleep last night thinking about this."

"Still, I cannot let you and Astral win here today!" Kaito declared. "The chance of you dueling Alnia is too big of a risk to take. You could lose, and if that happens, she'll take the Numeron Code and plunge this world into darkness."

"Then Astral and I just won't lose!" Yuma declared.

"You and Astral are strong, but I highly doubt you'd have a chance against Alnia." Kaito replied. "She even defeated me. And since you and Astral have never beaten me, you'd probably wouldn't stand a chance against Alnia."

"Then there's simply only one thing to do, isn't there Yuma?" Astral interjected.

"That's right! Astral and I will prove we're strong enough to beat Alnia by beating you!" Yuma told him.

At this, Kaito smirked. "That was just the response I was expecting to hear from you. Okay then. If you can surpass me right here and now, then I'll know that you can surpass Alnia!"

"You're on!" Yuma agreed.

"Let the duel… begin!" the referee declared.

Yuma activated his D-Gazer and duel disk. Kaito activated his own duel disk and D-Gazer tattoo. As the audience members activated their own D-Gazers to watch, Kaito's usual black outfit turned white. In an instant the color of the surrounding area went through a slight change.

"I'll go first!" Kaito declared with his first draw. "I summon Photon Baby in Defense Mode!"

Appearing on Kaito's side of the battlefield was a small robot-like creature with blue armor covering its head and torso, and blue and white armor on its arms. Instead of legs, the creature's lower half was a pair spheres made of blue light. The creature had a single red eye, and in its right hand it carried a small sword.

"I set one card on the field and end my turn." Kaito announced.

Yuma drew his first card. "I summon Zubaba Knight in Attack Mode!"

Materializing on Yuma and Astral's side of the battlefield was a knight clad in red, gold and black armor. On the back of the knight's helmet was a large jagged ornament that slightly resembled a lightning bolt, and on his back was a flowing red cape. In each hand the knight carried a jagged sword, and attached to the back of both blades was a round orange emblem that bore a symbol that looked similar to the letter Z.

"Since I just summoned a level three Warrior monster, I can also summon Kagemucha Knight!" Yuma announced.

A shadow appeared on the ground next to Zubaba Knight and rose up to take the form of a black shadowy warrior. Dark reddish-brown armor covered the warrior's head and torso, and its eyes were two large yellow circles.

"Using the level three Zubaba Knight and Kagemucha Knight, I build the overlay network and Xyz Summon Number 17: Leviathan Dragon!" Yuma announced.

A large vortex in the form of a galaxy appeared in the center of the battlefield and pulled in the two knights as balls of blue energy. Rising out of the galaxy only seconds later was a large ornate round object that looked like it had a blue serpent coiled around it. Orbiting the object were two balls made of blue light. The object soon uncoiled and changed shape to take the form of a purplish-blue serpentine dragon with red eyes and a long narrow body. The dragon had three pairs of blue wings on the sides of its body, and on the back of its head was a large blue fin. On the dragon's head were five grey horns that pointed forward, and glowing on its large left horn in yellow alien writing was the number 17.

"It's been a long time since I've seen Yuma and Astral use that Number." Kotori recalled up in the stands.

"Is that the Number Nasch ended up using during his very first duel with Yuma and Astral?" Durbe asked.

"Yep. Same one." Kotori confirmed.

"You're starting out this duel using that Number?" Kaito asked. "I'll admit it has a decent effect, but I'm sure there are plenty of better Numbers you could've summoned."

"Any Number has the potential to grow into a powerful force." Astral told Kaito. "All it takes is the right card to bring it out!"

"And with that cue, I activate Rank-Up-Magic Limited Barian's Force!" Yuma announced. "With this card, I use Leviathan Dragon to rebuild the overlay network and Xyz Summon Number C17: Leviathan Devil Dragon!"

Another galaxy-like vortex appeared on the field as Leviathan Dragon changed back to its sealed form. The object receded back into the galaxy and a pillar of red light shot from the center soon after. Rising out of the vortex as the energy subsided was a new object that looked like it had a red serpent coiled around it and a red diamond on the front. Sticking out of the top was a golden spike, and on the sides of the object were two golden blades reminiscent of sides of the Barian Emblem. In moments the object transformed to become a new and larger version of Leviathan Dragon.

The dragon had changed from blue to red, and his wings along with the fin on the back of his head had turned black and had lines of crimson energy glowing on them. On the front of the dragon's chest was a golden version of the Barian Emblem. The dragon's horns had turned gold, and the number 17 on his left horn had become the color of dried blood. On the ground in a circle around the dragon were three red crystals covered with gold plates.

"I activate Leviathan Devil Dragon's effect!" Yuma announced. "By detaching one of his overlay units, I can double Leviathan Devil Dragon's ATK from 2100 to 4200 until the end of my opponent's turn!"

One of the crystals around the crimson aquatic dragon shattered and released a bolt of gold electricity that went into the emblem on the dragon's chest. Leviathan Devil Dragon roared and began to glow with a red aura.

"Not bad." Kaito remarked. "Of course all that ATK would mean more if my monster wasn't in Defense Mode."

"Normally you'd be right, but Leviathan Devil Dragon has another effect." Yuma revealed. "Since he still has the original Leviathan Dragon as an overlay unit, he can inflict piercing damage in battle!"

"Kaito's Photon Baby only has 100 DEF!" Alit realized down in the dugout. "If this attack gets through, Kaito's life points will be wiped out."

"Get real. There's no way an attack like that will work on Kaito." Shark told him. "Both Yuma and Astral should know that better than anyone."

"Leviathan Devil Dragon, attack Photon Baby!" Yuma commanded. "Fatal Vice Stream!"

"I activate my Trap, Photon Beacon Flare!" Kaito announced. "By sacrificing Photon Baby, I can negate your attack and summon another Photon monster from my deck to replace him. And of course the monster I choose to bring forth is Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon!"

Leviathan Devil Dragon opened his jaws and sent forth a massive beam of crimson energy at Kaito's small monster. Before the attack could hit though, a pillar of white light shot up from the ground around Photon Baby and high into the air, absorbing the energy from the dragon's attack. Leviathan Devil Dragon's attack ended and the pillar of light exploded to reveal a new dragon. The dragon's body was mainly purple, and on its chest was a red cross with a blue gem in the center. A galaxy could be seen in both of its glowing blue eyes.

"Did you really think I wouldn't be prepared for an attack like the one you just tried?" Kaito asked.

"Actually I would've been disappointed if you weren't." Yuma admitted.

"Indeed." Astral agreed. "We know you're a much better duelist than that."

"I'll just set a card on the field and end my turn." Yuma announced.

Kaito calmly drew his next card. "I'm sure you know what comes next, Yuma. Leviathan Devil Dragon may have 4200 ATK right now, but the moment I attack with Photon Dragon I'll remove both him and Devil Dragon from the field. When they come back at the end of the battle, Devil Dragon will have lost all his overlay units and his ATK will be back to 2100. But more importantly, Photon Dragon's ATK will go up from 3000 to 4000."

"If you're so sure about that, go ahead and attack." Yuma eagerly dared.

"Fine with me!" Kaito replied. "Photon Dragon, attack Leviathan Devil Dragon! Photon Stream of Destruction!"

"I activate my Trap, Number Conversion Shield!" Yuma announced. "When a Number monster of mine is targeted for an attack, Number Conversion Shield negates that attack and use the target to Xyz Summon another Number of the same Rank. So I use the Rank four Leviathan Devil Dragon to Xyz Summon Number 39: Utopia!"

Just as Photon Dragon was about to launch his attack, a blinding pillar of golden light shot up from the ground around Leviathan Devil Dragon. The light soon cleared to reveal a familiar white sword with three balls of golden light orbiting it. In moments the sword transformed to become Utopia. Many of those who were watching the duel were left stunned.

"Looks like you and I had the same idea, huh Kaito?" Yuma observed.

"I see. So Leviathan Devil Dragon was only a decoy as well." Kaito realized.

"Pretty much." Yuma admitted.

"Pretty amazing." Stacy remarked up in the stands. "I had no idea that Yuma and Kaito dueled at such a high level."

"Up until now they've just been feeling each other out." Droite responded. "This is where the real duel is about to begin."

"I'll set one card on the field and end my turn." Kaito announced.

As Yuma drew his next card, it flashed with a golden light. "I activate the Spell card, Rank-Up-Magic Numeron Force! With this card, I use Utopia to rebuild the overlay network and Xyz Summon Number C39: Utopia Ray Victory!"

With the activation of that card, Utopia's armor began to transform. The armor covering his arms had turned red, while his shoulder armor had grown larger and more pointed. He had also gained a second pair of arms covered in the same red armor as his main pair, and in all four hands he carried a sword with a golden handle. Utopia's wings had become golden and blade-like, and his golden face had gained what looked like a mouth. Orbiting around the warrior now were four balls made of blue light.

"Thanks to Numeron Force, Photon Dragon's effects are negated." Yuma continued. "I attack Photon Dragon with Utopia Ray Victory! And during the battle I detach one of Utopia Ray Victory's overlay units to have him gain Photon Dragon's ATK during the battle! Hope Sword Victory Slash!"

As Utopia Ray Victory charged towards Kaito's dragon, one of the balls of light orbiting him vanished. The warrior slashed Photon Dragon to pieces with his swords. The bits of the dragon's body shattered to bits and Kaito's life points took a steep drop to 1400.

"I activate a Trap, Photon Restoration!" Kaito announced. "By banishing Photon Baby from my Graveyard, I can recover the life points I just lost in battle!"

A pillar of white light shot up from the ground around Kaito. After a moment the light faded, and Kaito's life points had gone back up to 4000.

"At this point the secondary effect of Photon Restoration kicks in." Kaito continued. "By returning two card in my hand to my deck, I can add a light monster in my deck to my hand."

"Astounding! He undid the damage we did to him and improved his hand as well." An impressed Astral observed.

"That's Kaito for ya." Yuma replied. "I'll set two cards on the field and end my turn!"

Kaito drew his next card. "Yuma. You and Astral have put up a good fight, but it's time I started to wind this duel up. I summon the Tuner monster, Photon Priestess in Attack Mode!"

Appearing on Kaito's side of the field was a humanoid female covered almost completely in a white skintight bodysuit. Her head was completely covered in a silver helmet that showed a single red eye. On her chest was a piece of silver armor with a round green gem in the center, and around her waist was a silver belt. Hanging from her back was a transparent white cape made from a shimmering ethereal fabric.

"Wait, did he just say that monster he summoned was a Tuner?" Hikari asked.

"When Photon Priestess is summoned to the field, I can summon another Photon monster from the Graveyard with its effects negated." Kaito announced. "Blaze back to life, Photon Dragon!"

With that, the red cross that was on Photon Dragon's chest appeared in Kaito's right hand. The blonde duelist threw the cross into the air, causing it to explode with a flash of blue light. The light cleared and Photon Dragon returned with a roar.

"I tune the level two Photon Priestess into the level eight Photon Dragon for a level eight Synchro Summon!" Kaito announced.

The gem mounted in the priestess's chest armor flashed and she changed into two rings of blue light. The two rings encircled Photon Dragon and caused his body to become transparent, revealing eight golden stars floating around inside him.

"The stars in the heavens shall now gather as one! Their spark signals the coming of the ruler of light!" Kaito chanted. "Synchro Summon! Be born, Galaxy-Eyes Kaiser Photon Dragon!"

The stars inside Photon Dragon flashed and became a pillar of golden light. At the same time, the Signer marks of Hikari and Cleo began to glow. Meanwhile, Kaito cried out and gave of a bust of the same golden energy. After a moment, the light faded to reveal Photon Dragon in a new form. His body gave off a brilliant golden light. The once blue armor that covered the dragon's tail, chest, upper legs and the back of his neck had turned red. The gem in the center of the dragon's chest had become green along with his eyes. On the dragon's head were three long narrow horns made of red armor that pointed back and curved up slightly.

Kaito meanwhile was glowing with the same golden light as his dragon. His eyes were glowing with an intense green light as well. Yuma and Astral were completely stunned by this development, as was everyone watching the duel.

Up in the stands, a shocked Mizael stood from his chair. "Tenjo… what have you done?"

"No way… since when has Kaito had a Synchro Monster version of Photon Dragon?" Yuma wondered.

"The power that dragon is giving off is immense!" Astral informed Yuma. "I'm not sure how we'll be able to stop it."

"Yuma! Astral! This dragon is a weapon my father and I developed to stop threats like the Death Queens!" Kaito revealed. "Now that it's out on the field, there's no way the two of you can win! Your time in the Millennium Tournament is over!"

* * *

 **Author's Note:** For those who were wondering what Kaito's two new cards were, you've just seen them. The full reason for their creation will be revealed in the next chapter, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.


	12. Yuma's Power

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.

* * *

Chapter 12: Yuma's Power

"So you and Dr. Faker actually made that Synchro Monster?" a still very stunned Yuma asked.

"We created Kaiser Photon Dragon using data taken from the Galaxy-Eyes Crimson Photon Dragon card that Hikari used against Morphia." Kaito revealed. "We also used every bit of data we could find on the Signer Dragons and their evolved forms, and even the Crimson Dragon itself. The end result is the monster you see before you, an incarnation of Photon Dragon that uses the same kind of power as the Crimson Dragon."

"Guess that explains why my Signer mark and Cleo's are reacting to that dragon." Hikari realized.

"Hey Droite, did you know that Kaito and Dr. Faker were working on a card like this?" Kotori asked up in the stands.

"Of course I did." Droite revealed with a somewhat sad expression. "In fact I was behind the creation of the card all the way."

"With Kaiser Photon Dragon, I'll be able to easily stop the Death Queens." Kaito declared.

"Kaito, you said before that you and Dr. Faker created this card in order to stop other threats besides the Death Queens." Astral recalled. "Just what is the real reason you made this dragon?"

"…Let's just that I know for a fact their might be a new threat down the road after this situation with the Death Queens is resolved." Kaito answered with a rather sad expression.

"I see… you're concerned that your unborn child might become a threat." Astral realized, causing Kaito to become very surprised.

"Wait, WHAT!" a completely blindsided Yuma exclaimed.

"How the heck did Astral know Droite was pregnant?" an equally stunned Hikari wondered.

"Yeah, how did… wait." Shark spoke as a realization suddenly hit him. "Hikari, did you already know about this?"

"Uh… well I…" a flustered Hikari spoke. "Aw dammit!"

"Droite, is what Astral just said true?" Rio asked up in the stands. "Are you really pregnant?"

"Uh, yeah. Are you?" Kotori asked with a fake look at surprise.

"You already knew about this, didn't you Kotori?" Cathy quickly deduced.

"Of course I… yeah, I did." Kotori admitted.

"And yes, it is true. I really am pregnant." Droite confirmed.

"Why do I feel like I'm missing something big here?" Stacy asked.

"How the hell did you know about this?" Kaito asked Astral.

"I can sense an energy coming from Droite, an energy similar to when she was a vampire." Astral revealed. "Since she is still obviously very human, I assumed that energy was coming from a child inside her. Judging from Yuma's reaction just now, I take it you did not tell him about this."

"Actually, the only people who knew before now besides Droite and I were Dr. Faker, Hikari and Kotori." Kaito revealed with a slight look of irritation.

"You told Kotori before me?" a stunned and somewhat hurt Yuma asked.

"Only because I didn't really have a choice." Kaito answered. "We were going to tell everyone eventually though."

"It appears I just made a major social blunder." Astral realized. "For that, I apologize."

"Hey wait a sec. Kaito, are you saying that you and Dr. Faker made Kaiser Photon Dragon to fight your own kid?" Yuma asked.

At this, Kaito sighed. "At one point during Mitaka's attempt to grab the Numeron Code, Droite stepped in to protect Kotori from one of Mitaka's followers. During her duel, Droite ended up summoning a new Dead Star monster, one so powerful that only a Dragon-type Synchro Monster can destroy it in battle. After the duel, Morphia appeared before Droite in a dream and told her that the Dead Star monster was to belong to our child, that it was going to be at least half vampire."

"But, that could just be a dream. Right?" Yuma asked.

"Considering that the new Dead Star monster Droite used is very real, neither of us thinks so." Kaito replied. "That's why I wanted to be prepared in case the worst happen."

"In other words, you believe you child might become a threat." Astral deduced. "Kaito, while the child you and Droite are having may indeed be half vampire, it does not necessarily mean that it will grow to become a threat in the future."

"You don't know that for sure." Kaito pointed out.

"Indeed I do not." Astral admitted. "But I have faith that you and Droite can raise this child to become a force of good."

"Same goes for me, Kaito." Yuma told him. "This kid you're having with Droite may be half vampire, but it's still your kid. Which means I know it'll turn out great. And if you and Droite every need any help with the little guy, I'll be right here."

"…Thanks Yuma." Kaito replied with a small smile.

"You bet!" Yuma replied with a thumbs-up. "Now how 'bout we get on with this duel?"

"Right." Kaito agreed. "I activate Kaiser Photon Dragon's effect! Once per turn, Kaiser Photon Dragon can detach an enemy Xyz Monster's overlay units and absorb them. And of course the monster I'm targeting is Utopia Ray Victory!"

Kaiser Photon Dragon fired a beam of golden light from the gemstone on his chest that struck Utopia Ray Victory. All the color drained from the warrior's armor and the balls of light orbiting around him were pulled into the beam and traveled up it into Kaiser Photon Dragon's gemstone. Before long the beam of light stopped, and Kaiser Photon Dragon roared and began to glow even brighter.

"Kaiser Photon Dragon gains 500 ATK for each overlay unit he absorbs, which means his ATK goes up from 4000 to 5500." Kaito continued. "Not only that, when Kaiser Photon Dragon uses this effect on a Number, that Number's effects are negated."

"Which means Utopia Ray Victory can be destroyed in battle now!" Yuma quickly realized.

"This is what makes Kaiser Photon Dragon the perfect weapon to defeat Alnia." Kaito added. "Kaiser Photon Dragon, attack Utopia Ray Victory! Photon Stream of Revolution!"

Kaiser Photon Dragon opened his jaws and fired out a massive stream of gold and red energy at Utopia Ray Victory. The Number warrior was instantly vaporized by the attack, which kept on going and hit Yuma. Yuma was nearly knocked off the stage as his life points plunged to 1300.

"Yuma! Astral! This is far as the two of you go in this tournament!" Kaito declared. "Leave taking down Alnia and the other Death Queens to me!"

"Not bad, Kaito." Yuma smirked as he got back up. "But it'll take more than that to make Astral and I just walk away! We're not giving up until the last draw!"

"Then I'll just end my turn right here." Kaito responded. "If you think you and Astral have what it takes to face Alnia, then prove it to me by beating me right here and now!"

"You asked for it!" Yuma declared as he drew his next card. "I now activate one of my Traps, Xyz Reborn! I use this card to bring back Utopia!"

With a flash of light, Utopia reappeared in the field in his original form. The large card that was Yuma's Xyz Reborn Trap turned into a ball of gold light and was pulled into Utopia's orbit.

"Now I activate my other Trap, Rank-Up Replay!" Yuma announced. "By banishing a Rank-Up-Magic card from my Graveyard, Rank-Up Replay lets me use that card's effect to Rank Up an Xyz Monster! So I banish Limited Barian's Force from the Graveyard and use Utopia to rebuild the overlay network and Xyz Summon Number C39: Utopia Ray V!"

Another galaxy-like vortex appeared on the battlefield as Utopia went back to his original sword form. A few moments after the white sword receded into the vortex, a new and darker sword emerged and changed to take the darker form of Utopia. On the ground by Utopia Ray V were two red crystals covered with gold plates.

"I get it. You're planning to use Utopia Ray V's effect to destroy Kaiser Photon Dragon and take out my life points in one hit." Kaito assumed. "Well I'll save you both from some embarrassment right now and tell you that Kaiser Photon Dragon is completely unaffected by the effects of Xyz Monster cards!"

"Say what?" Yuma exclaimed.

"That's one of the feature's of Kaiser Photon Dragon that makes him the perfect card to fight the Dead Star monsters." Kaito revealed. "Against some of the normal Dead Star monsters, their effects to lower the ATK of a monster that battled with it wouldn't apply."

"It seems that you made the perfect weapon to use against the Dead Star monsters by making what is perhaps the ultimate anti-Xyz Monster card." Astral observed.

"I just blew your strategy out of the water." Kaito told his two opponents. "Looks like your best just wasn't quite good enough."

"Who said that Utopia Ray V was my best?" Yuma replied. "I activate the Spell card, Pot of Avarice! By returning Zubaba Knight, Kagemucha Knight, Leviathan Dragon, Leviathan Devil Dragon and Utopia Ray Victory to the deck, I can draw two more cards!"

The next two cards that Yuma pulled from his deck flashed with a golden light. Kaito could tell that the current turn was probably going to be Yuma's final move.

"I activate the Spell card, Rank-Up-Magic Astral Force!" Yuma announced.

"You mean you're going to…" a surprised Kaito began.

"Yep. I use Utopia Ray V to rebuild the overlay network and Xyz Summon a monster two Ranks higher!" Yuma announced. "Come forth, Number C39: Utopia Ray VII!"

A massive pillar of golden light shot up from the ground beneath Utopia Ray V. The light faded after a few moments to reveal the dark knight in a new form. He had grown to twice his original size, and a pair of angelic wings with read feathers had replaced the wing-like blades on his back. The warrior's black helmet had gained a grey faceplate similar to the golden faceplate that Utopia Ray Victory had. On the forehead of his helmet was a white crest made to look like the Emperor's Key. The once red parts of Utopia Ray V's shoulder armor had turned gold, and the armor on his upper arms and legs had changed from black to white. In his right hand, the new form of Utopia carried a double-bladed sword with curved golden blades, and covering his chest was a plate of golden armor with the Roman Numeral VII in the center written in black. Orbiting around the warrior were three balls made of red light.

"This form of Utopia was born from combining the powers of the now united Astral and Barian Worlds!" Astral declared. "It is this power that will be your undoing in this duel, Kaito!"

"That is a pretty impressive monster you just summoned." Kaito admitted. "But it only has 3600 ATK. Plus Kaiser Photon Dragon is immune to whatever effect it might have."

"Maybe, but I've got one card in my hand that Kaiser Photon Dragon's not immune to!" Yuma revealed. "I activate the Spell card, De-Synchro! This card lets me get rid of a Synchro Monster on the field and summon its materials back from the Graveyard! And of course the Synchro Monster I'm using this on is Kaiser Photon Dragon!"

Kaiser Photon Dragon suddenly crackled with green electricity and broke apart into ten white stars. The stars gathered together in two places on Kaito's side of the field and changed into Photon Priestess and the original Photon Dragon. At the same time, Kaito's golden aura faded.

"De-Synchro? You had that card in your deck the whole time?" a shocked Kaito asked.

"It was Yuma's idea to include the card." Astral revealed with a smirk.

"Well, I figured that we'd probably be up against one or two people who used Synchro Monsters in this tournament, so I figured it'd be a good idea to have at least one card that could cause them some major problems." Yuma explained as he rubbed the back of his head. "Of course I didn't think I'd ever be using it against you, but here we are."

"I see." Kaito responded with a small smile. "Looks like I really underestimated you."

"I activate Utopia Ray VII's effect!" Yuma announced. "By detaching any number of his overlay units, Utopia Ray VII can destroy an equal number of my opponent's monsters and deal damage equal to their ATK!"

"Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon has an ATK of 3000, and Photon Priestess has an ATK of 1400." Astral added. "That adds up to a total of 4400, more than enough to end this duel!"

"Let's go, Utopia Ray VII!" Yuma commanded. "Diffusion Blade!"

Two of the balls of red light orbiting the warrior entered the crest on the forehead of his helmet. Utopia Ray VII threw his blade at Kaito's monster. As the blade spun through the air, it duplicated itself and cut both of Kaito's monsters in half. Both monsters exploded and Kaito was hurled back, taking the photon duelist's life points from 4000 to zero in an instant. With the duel finally at an end, Utopia Ray VII vanished and the color of the stadium returned to normal. Kaito's outfit returned to its usual black as well.

"And the winner of the duel is… Yuma Tsukumo!" the referee declared.

With the result of the duel announced, the audience burst into cheers. Yuma meanwhile went over and helped Kaito up to his feet.

"That was a really great duel, Kaito." Yuma declared. "Astral and I really had a blast."

"Same here." Kaito replied. "Looks like I was wrong before. You and Astral really do have what it takes to beat Alnia."

"The next duel will be between Hikari Fudo and Shane Ford!" the referee announced. "The duel will begin in ten minutes!"

"Well, looks like I'm up next." Hikari observed.

"Yuma and Astral are sure going to have their hands full in the next round." Shark responded.

"That's assuming that I make it to the next round, of course." Hikari pointed out.

"You will." Shark told her. "…So, when were you going to tell me about Kaito and Droite's kid?"

"Drop it, Ryoga." Hikari responded with a sigh.

Over in the other dugout, Chitose and Samantha had been silently watching Yuma and Kaito's duel alone. At that moment, Shane arrived to join them.

"Hey there, ladies." Shane greeted. "I hope I didn't show up too late."

"You still have about ten minutes before your scheduled duel with Hikari Fudo." Chitose informed her.

"So I guess I showed up in time then." Shane observed. "I would've been here sooner, but I woke up this morning feeling kinda… well, hung over I guess. Hey, where's Alnia?"

"Oh, she's around." Samantha replied with a mischievous grin. "How'd you and her make out last night?"

"Uh… pretty well." Shane answered. "Of course some of that night's kind of a blur. But never mind all that. Right now I'm totally focused on my next duel. Hikari Fudo's not going to know what hit her."

"You have no idea how right you are." Samantha replied.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** For a while, the hardest part about this duel was figuring out how to resolve it. In the end, I wound up taking a bit of inspiration from the final duel between Yugi and Kaiba in Battle City. I also toyed around with the idea of having Yuma use a new Number F monster instead of Utopia Ray VII, but I was kind of drawing a blank on what that Number should be.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	13. Full Metal Devil

**Author's Note:** Well, I'm back. I'm really sorry for not updating this story for such a long time. The reason for the lack of updates was because I had wanted to take a little break from this story, but I had never intended for that break to be so long. It's amazing how chaotic life can get, especially when you're taking an online class that involves an internship. The important thing though is that I'm back now. The way things are right now, I'll probably only be able to continue updating this story once a week, but I am going to be working on it again.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.

* * *

Chapter 13: Full Metal Devil

Hikari stood on the stage waiting for her opponent to show up. As she looked around the stadium, Hikari glanced into the dugout being occupied by the Death Queens and noticed that Alnia was absent. Hikari knew that Alnia didn't need to be there since she wasn't going to be taking part in any of the duels happening in the current round, yet she couldn't help but find Alnia's lack of presence to be a bit suspicious. What was even more curious though that while Alnia was missing Hikari noticed her next opponent talking in the dugout with the two other Death Queens. Hikari didn't have much chance to dwell on it though, since at that moment Shane was quickly heading for the stage.

"Hi there." Shane greeted after finally getting on stage and taking her position. "So you're the great Hikari Fudo. It's nice to finally meet you."

"Same here." Hikari replied. "Um, if you don't mind me asking, what were you talking about with those two down there?"

"Who, you mean Warren and Amamiya?" Shane asked. "We were just making small talk before the match. Why, is that some kind of problem?"

"Uh… no, of course not." Hikari replied as she shook her head. "Forget I mentioned it."

"Let the duel begin!" the referee announced from his place beside the stage.

Hikari and Shane activated their respective D-Gazers and duel disks. The rest of the audience activated their D-Gazers to watch the show, and the color of the surrounding area changed slightly.

"I'll start this off." Shane announced as she drew her first card. "I summon Geargiarmor in Attack Mode!"

Appearing on Shane's side of the field was a strange robot made of several gears, with two large yellow gears on the sides. It had two small white gears for eyes, and on each side of its body was an arm made from a flexible grey tube and ended with a white glove-like hand. Attached to the bottom of the robot was a brownish-grey attachment with two thick powerful legs, and on each arm was a large brownish-grey shield with a gear-like symbol on the front.

"So Shane uses a Geargia deck." Michael observed from the dugout shared by Yuma and his friends. "This should be an interesting duel."

"I activate Geargiarmor's effect!" Shane announced. "Once per turn, I can flip him face-down in Defense Mode!" The gear robot changed to a large card that was facedown on the field. "That ends my turn."

Hikari drew her first card. "I summon Junk Blader in Attack Mode!"

Appearing on Hikari's side of the battlefield was a warrior clad completely in purple armor. He had on a tattered dark-brown cape, and in his hand he carried a lance-like sword.

"Next I activate the Spell card, Emergency Teleport!" Hikari announced. "Using this card, I special summon the Tuner monster, Krebons from my hand!"

Materializing next to Junk Blader was a slender humanoid figure wearing a blue and white costume similar to that of a court jester. Its head appeared to be detached from its body and it had a mouth of yellow zipper-like teeth. Over its eyes was a black visor that displayed green digital lines in place of eyes.

"I tune the level two Krebons into the level four Junk Blader for a level six Synchro Summon!" Hikari announced.

Krebons's body flashed orange and he changed into two green rings of light. The rings encircled Junk blader and turned him into four white stars.

"Clustering stars come together to signal the arrival of an unstoppable fighter! Create the path its light shines upon!" Hikari chanted. "Synchro Summon! Rise up! Mighty Warrior!"

The stars flashed and became a pillar of white light that shot into the air. The light quickly faded to reveal a muscular warrior with light-blue skin and clad in a blue tight-fitting bodysuit with gold circuit paths. His left arm was bare and had two think gold rings on his upper arm and forearm, with an even thicker band around his wrist. His right arm meanwhile was mechanical and ended in a large armored hand. On his legs he had on knee-high metal boots with long rocket fins at the knees.

"Mighty Warrior, attack Geargiarmor!" Hikari commanded. "Mighty Knuckle!"

Hikari's warrior charged across the field at Shane's facedown monster, causing it to return to its true form. Mighty Warrior punched the gear robot with his metal fist, causing it to explode in a flash of fire and smoke.

"When Mighty Warrior destroys a monster in battle, my opponent takes half that monster's ATK as battle damage!" Hikari announced.

Mighty Warrior took aim at Shane with his mechanical arm, and his fist shot off towards her like a rocket. Shane quickly raised her arms to shield herself from the additional attack, but her life points took a slight drop to 3450. With the damage done, Mighty Warrior's fist reattached itself to his arm.

"Nice move. But because Geargiarmor was flipped face-up by your attack, I can add another Geargia monster to my hand." Shane announced. "And the monster I choose to add is Geargiano."

"I set one card on the field and end my turn." Hikari announced.

"Wow! You really are as good as they say you are." An impressed Shane declared. "This was just the kind of duel I was hoping for."

"Glad I didn't disappoint." Hikari replied.

"Well to be honest, I was really hoping that I'd get the chance to duel you in this tournament." Shane revealed. "The reason is because I'm a real big admirer of your dad. Not just for his skill as a duelist, but for his mechanical skills too."

"A lot of people don't really talk about that, actually." Hikari admitted. "Whenever I do hear someone talking about my dad, it's always about what a legendary duelist he is. Few people appreciate him for his talents with machines."

"Yeah? Well I'm not one of those people." Shane replied. "Hey, is it true that your dad built his first D-Wheel from pieces of junk?"

"Sure is." Hikari confirmed. "That was all he had to work with back in the old days of Satellite."

"Too cool. Well, we're still in the middle of a duel. And my counterattack begins now!" Shane declared before drawing her next card. "I summon Geargiano Mk II in Attack Mode!" Appearing on Shane's side of the field was a small robot made of gears that looked exactly like the one that was part of Geargiarmor. "Since I summoned Geargiano Mk II, I can summon another Geargia monster from my hand. So I summon Geargiano Mk III!"

Appearing next to Shane's first gear robot was a second one that was virtually identical. The main difference was that this version had blue gears instead of yellow ones on the sides of its body.

"Because I just summoned Geagiano Mk III with the effect of a Geargia monster, I can special summon another Geargia monster from my hand!" Shane announced. "So I summon Geargiano!"

A third small robot made of gears appeared on the field next to Shane's other two. Unlike the first two machines, the large gears on the sides of this one's body were silver.

"Shane now has three level three monsters on the field!" Yuma realized.

"Using my three level three monsters, I build the overlay network and Xyz Summon my ultimate fighting machine!" Shane announced. "Mobilize, Geargiagear Gigant XG!"

A lafrge blue vortex appeared on the stage behind Shane and pulled in Shane's three tiny robots as balls of orange energy. Rising out of the vortex a moment late was a giant human-shaped robot with a mostly orange torso that had a pair of large black tank treads built onto the back. The robot's head was with a silver faceplate and a blue V-shaped visor over the eyes. Its legs were mainly green and grey, and on its hips were two red blade-like gears. Built onto the right arm of the robot was a large yellow gun with a black barrel and a red number three written on the top, and mounted on its left arm was a large grey shield shaped like a gear. Shane's three original gear robots were built into the machine's chest, and orbiting around it were three balls of yellow light.

"I attack Mighty Warrior with Geargiagear Giant XG and activate his effect!" Shane announced. "When a Machine monster of mine attacks, I can detach one of XG's overlay units to negate the effects of all face-up cards my opponent controls until after the battle! Not only that, my opponent can't activate any effects until after the battle either!"

One of the balls of yellow light orbiting Shane's giant robot entered the back of its large gun. Geargiagear Gigant XG then took aim at Mighty Warrior.

"XG, blow Mighty Warrior away!" Shane commanded. "Giga Cross Spin!"

The robot fired a ball of red energy from its gun that quickly took the shape of a large spinning gear. The attack hit Mighty Warrior and caused him to explode in a flash of fire and smoke. When the smoke cleared, Hikari's life points had dropped down to 3700.

"I'm betting that card you have face-down is Scrap-Iron Scarecrow." Shane continued. "That's a pretty tough card to get around, but as long as I have XG on the field, it's useless."

"Looks like Shane has Hikari in a pretty tough spot." Yuma remarked.

"You're a fool to assume anything like that." Cleo told him. "Just as Shane is a fool to assume that Hikari's face-down card is Scrap-Iron Scarecrow."

"You mean it's not?" Yuma asked.

"It very well might be." Cleo admitted. "But the moment anyone assumes that Hikari's moves are that predictable is the moment they've ensured their defeat."

"I'll set one card on the field and end my turn." Shane announced. "Your move."

Hikari drew her next card. "I summon Quick-Span Knight in Attack Mode!"

Appearing on Hikari's side of the field was a small humanoid robot that was mainly silver in color. It had a large head in the shape of a wrench with two eyes.

"Next I activate my Trap, Descending Lost Star!" Hikari announced. "With this card, I can summon a Synchro Monster from my Graveyard in Defense Mode. Only that monster loses a level and its DEF becomes zero. And of course the monster I'm bringing back to the field is Mighty Warrior!"

A column of purple light shot up from the ground next to Quick-Span Knight. The light soon faded and Mighty Warrior was back on the battlefield in a kneeling position.

"Wait! So that wasn't Scrap-Iron Scarecrow?" a surprised Shane asked.

"Nope. Not a bad guess though." Hikari answered. "By the way, thanks for taking down Mighty Warrior before. You made things a whole lot easier for me."

"Now Hikari has everything set up to summon her dragon." Shark realized with a smirk. "This was probably her plan all along."

"I tune the level three Quick-Span Knight into the now level five Mighty Warrior for a level eight Synchro Summon!" Hikari announced.

Quick-Span Knight flashed orange and changed into three green rings of light. The rings quickly encircled Mighty Warrior and transformed him into five white stars.

"Clustering hopes will become a new shining star! Become the path its light shines upon!" Hikari chanted. "Synchro Summon! Take flight, Stardust Dragon!"

The stars flashed and became a pillar of light that shot into the sky. The light soon faded to reveal a magnificent silvery-white dragon with dazzling wings and well-developed arms and legs. Its head ended in a three-pointed crest and at the end of its snout was a long horn. As the dragon flapped his wings, particles of green light showered down onto the field. The audience gazed at Hikari's newly summoned dragon with awe.

"Looks like we both have our ace monsters on the field." Shane noted. "Of course both of them have 2500 ATK, so a battle between them would be a draw."

"Don't be so sure, because now Quick-Span Knight's effect kicks in!" Hikari announced. "When he's used for a Synchro Summon, one of my opponent's monsters loses 500 ATK. And of course the monster I choose is Geargiagear Gigant XG!"

Quick-Span Knight's head appeared and flew through the air at Shane's robot. The head struck the middle Geargiano robot embedded in the center of Geargiagear Gigant XG's chest, causing the larger robot's ATK to drop to 2000.

"Stardust Dragon, attack XG!" Hikari commanded. "Shooting Sonic!"

Stardust Dragon opened his jaws and fired out a stream of sparking light at Shane's robot. XG was struck in the chest and exploded in a huge mass of fire upon being hit. When the smoke cleared, XG was gone and Shane's life points had dropped down to 2750.

"I activate my Trap, Xyz Reborn!" Shane announced. "With this card, I summon XG back to the field!"

XG rose back up out of another blue vortex that had appeared on the ground behind Shane. As soon as the robot fully emerged, the large Trap card that had summoned it turned into a ball of yellow light and was pulled into the machine's orbit.

"Looks like we're back to square one, huh?" Shane observed.

"Looks that way." Hikari agreed. "I'll set one card on the field and end my turn."

"Hikari certainly seems like she's having fun up there." Yuma remarked.

"Indeed." Astral agreed. "Shane is quite the skilled opponent."

"Get ready Hikari, because this is where things really heat up!" Shane declared.

"Bring it on." Hikari dared.

As Shane drew her next card, her expression suddenly went blank. She groaned and staggered as if she was just about to collapse, causing Hikari to become concerned. The dark-haired duelist quickly recovered though and looked at Hikari with an evil grin. The same eye-like symbol that had appeared on Sousuke's forhead was now on Shane's and her eyes had become the same color as Alnia's.

"Sorry, Signer. But the fun and games end here." Shane told Hikari in a slightly different voice.

"Alnia!" Hikari identified.

"Oh crap!" Shark cursed. "Don't tell me…"

"Alnia's controlling Shane the same way she controlled that actor Yuma dueled before the tournament." Kaito confirmed. "This duel just got very serious."

"I thought something was fishy when I noticed you weren't there with Anitak and Mitaka!" Hikari declared. "You have no right to use Shane as your puppet and butt in on this duel!"

"Sorry, but you Signers are too big of a pain in the ass to leave running around loose." Alnia told her through Shane. "Which is why I'm going to kill you right here and now!"

"There's no way you're taking me down with some cheap trick like this!" Hikari declared.

"We'll see about that! I activate Rank-Up-Magic Diablo Force!" Shane announced. "Using Geargiagear Gigant XG, I rebuild the overlay network and summon a Devil Xyz Monster! Arise, DXyz Geargiagear Devil XG!"

Shane's robot became engulfed in a pillar of red flames that shot high into the air. The flames quickly died down to reveal XG in a new form. Its torso, lower arms and legs had become red, while the other parts of its body had turned black. The robot had a pair of dark-grey horns on the sides of his head, and his faceplate had shattered to reveal a mouth full of metal fangs. The three small gear robots embedded in XG's chest had turned red and black and all had aggressive glowing yellow eyes. Orbiting around the machine were two balls of golden flames.

"With 3000 ATK, my new robot here trumps that dragon of yours." The possessed Shane continued. "Next I summon Geargiattacker in Attack Mode!"

Flying down onto the field was a small yellow and red jet with a green gear-shaped symbol on the side. Fitted into the cockpit of the plane was another Geargiano robot like the ones that had summoned XG's original form.

"I attack Stardust Dragon with Devil XG and activate its effect!" Shane announced. "By detaching an overlay unit, I negate the effects of all face-up cards you control and prevent you from activating any effects until after the battle!"

Devil XG took aim at Stardust Dragon with its cannon. Soon after, one of the fireballs orbiting around it entered the back of its gun.

"Devil XG, blow Stardust Dragon away!" Shane commanded. "Apocalypse Cross Spin!"

Devil XG fired a ball of red light from its cannon that took the form of a large spinning gear. The attack impacted Stardust Dragon, and the resulting explosion nearly knocked Hikari off the stage. When the dust settled, Hikari's life points had fallen to 2700.

"How did I just lose 1000 life points?" Hikari asked as she noticed the number on her life point counter.

"I forgot to mention that as long as Devil XG is on the field, monsters that all my Machine-type monsters attack lose 500 ATK during the battle." Shane explained. "Now I activate another one of Devil XG's effects! When a Machine-type monster I control inflicts battle damage while it still has the original XG as an overlay unit, Devil XG lets me destroy one of my opponent's Spell or Trap cards!" With that, Hikari's large facedown card suddenly exploded.

"Geargiattacker, attack the Signer bitch directly!" Shane commanded. "Kamikaze Gear Strike!"

The flying gear robot flew down at full speed and struck Hikari, knocking her onto her back. Her life points took a heavy drop to 800 as she got back to her feet. Meanhile, Geargiattacker flew back over to Shane's side of the field.

"Looks like you're on your last legs." Shane observed. "One more attack, and you'll be finished. But for now, I'll end my turn there."

"Dammit!" Shark cursed. "I'm gonna get Alnia for this!"

"Relax, Ryoga. Hikari has this under control." Cleo assured him. "It'll take more than cheap tactics like the ones Alnia is using to defeat her."

"Go on, Signer. Make your last move." Shane told her. "If it makes you feel better, I'll be sending Don Thousand's old pawn Nasch and your fellow Signers to join you in the afterlife soon enough."

"Shane was really looking forward to having this duel with me." Hikari told her. "I won't forgive you for using her like this!"

With that, the Signer marks of both Hikari and Cleo began to glow with a crimson light. As Hikari pulled the next card from her deck, it gave off the same kind of crimson flash.

"I activate the Spell card, Stardust Shimmer!" Hikari announced. "Using this card, I can summon a Dragon-type Synchro Monster from the Graveyard by banishing monsters from the Graveyard whose total levels equal that dragon's. So I banish Krebons and Mighty Warrior to revive Stardust Dragon!"

Particles of stardust began to gather together on Hikari's side of the field. In moments the particles took the complete form of Stardust Dragon.

"And just what do you hope to accomplish with that pathetic dragon of yours?" Shane asked.

"From my hand, I equip Stardust Dragon with the monster, Dragon Star Weapong-Dead Star Killer!" Hikari announced.

Flying down from above was a monster that looked like a red spacecraft with a cockpit shaped like the head of a dragon. On the sides of the craft was a pair of rocket engines that broke off and flew over to connect to the top of Stardust Dragon's wings. From the front end of each rocket extended a long silver spike. The spacecraft's head then disconnected from the rest of vehicle. It flew over and attached itself to Stardust Dragon's chest like a piece of armor. The rest of the craft attached itself to the silver dragon's back, becoming like a large booster engine.

"That's the monster that Hikari used to beat Kaito and Droite when they were vampires!" Yuma recalled.

"Because of Dead Star Killer's effect, Shooting Star Dragon's ATK shoots up to 4400!" Hikari announced. "Not only that, any Xyz Monster that Stardust Dragon attacks loses ATK equal to its own, meaning you're finished!"

"What?" Shane exclaimed.

"Stardust Dragon, attack Devil XG!" Hikari commanded. "Star Slayer Blitz!"

Stardust Dragon glowed with a white light and flew full speed into Devil XG. The resulting impact triggered an explosion that took Shane's life points to zero. With the duel over, Shane's remaining monster vanished and the color of the surrounding area returned to normal.

"Well, I guess I'll let you have that round, Signer." Shane told Hikari with a look of disgust. "But this is far from over."

With that, the cards for Diablo Force and Devil XD fell from Shane's duel disk and bust into flames. Shane staggered and the Diablo Force symbol vanished from her forehead. When she opened her eyes again, her eye color had returned to normal.

"What's going on?" a confused Shane asked as she looked around. "Wasn't I in the middle of a duel?"

"And the winner of the duel is… Hikari Fudo!" the referee announced.

The audience cheered as Shane rubbed the back of her head to try and figure out what was going on. Hikari walked over to her side of the stage.

"You okay?" Hikari asked.

"I guess so, but why did I black out like that?" Shane asked.

"I can explain that." Hikari replied. "It's kind of a long story though."

"Gee, and I was hoping for this duel to be perfect." Shane responded with a sad expression.

"Don't worry. We can take another shot at it some other time." Hikari assured her. "Now let's get off the stage and join the others."

Just before Shane and Hikari stepped off the stage, Hikari glanced down at the rival dugout and saw that Alnia had already returned. Hikari glared at Alnia, who responded with an evil grin.

"It appears your strategy to eliminate Hikari Fudo was unsuccessful." Chitose remarked to Alnia.

"I guess I underestimated her a little." Alnia admitted. "Her and the power of that damn Crimson Dragon. It won't happen again though."

"The next duel will be between Samantha Warren and Thomas Arclight!" the referee announced. "The duel will begin in ten minutes."

"Looks like you're up, Mitaka." Alnia told the redhead. "You better not screw this up."

"Relax Alnia. I've got this." Samantha assured her. "Before I'm done, Thomas Arclight will be begging for death."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I hope everyone enjoyed the duel featured in this chapter. It may not be my best work, but considering I had a huge case of writer's block where this duel was concerned before, I'd like to think I did okay. If not, the next duel should totally make up for it.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	14. Hidden Connection

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.

* * *

Chapter 14: Hidden Connection

The ten minutes break between duels had almost elapsed. Already, the people in the stands were returned to their seats after getting more refreshments or using the restroom. Hikari meanwhile had been using that time to try and explain to Shane why she had blacked out during their duel. The dark-haired machine duelist seemed to partially believe Hikari's story, yet found much of it very hard to believe. Meanwhile, Thomas had been pacing around the dugout somewhat nervously as he waited for his duel with Samantha.

"You okay man?" Shark asked Thomas.

"I think so." Thomas answered. "I just… I didn't expect things to turn out this way."

"Hey, all you had was a one-night fling with Mitaka. It's not like you actually knew what she really was." Shark pointed out. "Look at how Vector fooled us all in the beginning."

"I know. It's just… I haven't exactly had the best luck in the romance department lately." Thomas replied, glancing over in Cleo's direction. "Besides, you'll probably think this sounds stupid, but I can't help but feel like Samantha… I mean Mitaka and I have some kind of connection."

"You're right, that is stupid." Shark flatly replied. "Look, just put that out of your head. Remember, Mitaka and her two friends want to kill us so they can take the Numeron Code and revive that Zorc guy they keep talking about. That's why we have to come at them with everything we've got."

"Don't worry. I know what I have to do." Thomas assured him. "Once I get up on that stage, I'll be totally focused on the game."

"Will both Thomas Arclight and Samantha Warren please step up on stage?" the referee requested.

"Well, here we go. Showtime." Thomas spoke after taking a deep breath.

"Good luck!" Yuma told Thomas as he walked out of the dugout.

In moments, Thomas had arrived on the stage. Samantha was already on the stage looking at Thomas with a hate-filled look in her eyes.

"Things would be so much better if you didn't look like… him." Samantha spoke.

"Like who?" Thomas asked.

"…It doesn't matter." Samantha spoke after a moment. "In the end, you having his face will make it all that easier to destroy you."

"The next duel is between Thomas Arclight and Samantha Warren!" the referee announced. "Let the duel begin!"

With that, Thomas activated his duel disk and D-Gazer tattoo. Meanwhile, Samantha's left eye changed from gold to green. Her left forearm changed to its Barian form and a gold blade-like duel disk appeared on it. The audience members activated their D-Gazers to watch the duel and in an instant the color of the surrounding area changed.

"Ladies first!" Samantha declared as she drew her first card. "I set one card on the field. Then I summon Midnight Raven in Defense Mode!"

Appearing on Samantha's side of the field was a dog-sized raven with glowing red eyes. On the front of the raven's black-feathered chest there was a white symbol resembling a crescent moon.

"While Midnight Raven is face-up on my field, my opponent can't target any other cards for attacks or card effects." Samantha announced. "That ends my turn."

Thomas drew his first card. "I summon Gimmick Puppet Egg Head in Attack Mode!"

Materializing on Thomas's side of the field was a creepy-looking marionette with a red egg-shaped body and a face on the front. It had slender white arms and legs with hinged joints, and on top of its body was a piece of brown hair that could be considered a fancy wig.

"I activate Egg Head's effect!" Thomas announced. "By discarding one card from my hand, Egg Head can inflict 800 points of damage!"

Egg Head's mouth opened and a small cannon barrel inside shot a small orange fireball across the field at Samantha. The redhead crossed her arms to try and protect herself from the attack, but her life points still took a slight drop to 3200.

"That cheap shot the best you can do?" Samantha asked.

"For my next move, I activate the Spell card, Junk Puppet!" Thomas announced. "Using this card, I summon the Gimmick Puppet monster I just discarded for Egg Head's effect! Say hello to Gimmick Puppet Dreary Doll!"

A large black chest resembling a coffin materialized on the battlefield next to Egg Head. The lid of the box came off, and sitting up inside it was a doll that looked like a little girl with curly blonde locks wearing a blue dress.

"I activate the Spell card, Level Doubler!" Thomas announced. "With this card I double Egg Head's level from four to eight! I now overlay the level eight Egg Head and the level eight Dreary Doll to Xyz Summon Gimmick Puppet Noble Prince!"

A large blue vortex appeared in the center of the field and pulled in Thomas's two puppet monsters as balls or orange energy. Rising out of the vortex moments later was a large marionette built to resemble a young man. He had curled blond hair and top his head was a small golden crown. The puppet wore a sparkling red coat over a white shirt with frilled sleeve cuffs and a collar. He also had on long white pants and black shoes with gold buckles, and in his right hand was a large rapier. Orbiting around the puppet were two balls made of gold light.

"2500 ATK, huh? Not bad." Samantha admitted. "Of course it's not like you can really do anything with all that power."

"That's where you're wrong!" Thomas declared. "I activate Noble Prince's effect! By detaching an overlay unit, Noble Prince can destroy one monster my opponent controls and inflict damage equal to its ATK or DEF, depending on which is stronger! That raven of yours had 1000 ATK and 1600 DEF, which means you take 1600 points of damage!"

One of the balls of light orbiting Noble Prince entered the small crown atop his head. The prince's ventriloquist dummy-like mouth opened up to reveal a small cannon barrel inside. Noble Prince shot an orange ball of light down at Midnight Raven, causing it to explode in a flash of fire and smoke. Samantha's life points dropped down further to 1600.

"I activate Midnight Raven's effect!" Samantha announced. "When Midnight Raven is destroyed, I can summon a Spellcaster from my deck. I summon Blood Red Witch in Attack Mode!"

Appearing on the field where Midnight Raven once stood was a woman with long black hair that grew down to her waist. She had on a red dress with long sleeves and a long skirt that completely obscured her legs. Atop the woman's head was a large red conical hat, and covering her face was a featureless white mask with two round eyeholes. The little bit of skin of the witch's neck that was visible looked as though it had been burned.

"When Blood Red Witch is special summoned, I can summon a second Blood Red Witch from my deck!" Samantha announced. A second masked witch identical to the first materialized on the field. "And since I just special summoned a second Blood Red Witch, I can summon a third from my deck!" A third masked witch appeared on the battlefield.

"Mitaka now has three monsters on the field for an Xyz Summon." Kotori observed up in the stands.

"True, but all those monsters are level three." Cathy pointed out. "You said that Number of hers was a rank five, right? Mitaka will need more than those three monsters to summon it."

"She probably has a card lined up to increase the level of those three witches somehow." Droite assumed.

"Maybe. But Thomas still has an attack left." Rio pointed out. "Unless Mitaka can block it, her plan will be totally derailed."

"If you think I'm just going to stand by and let you do an Xyz Summon on the next turn, you're dense!" Thomas declared. "Noble Prince, attack the Blood Red Witch in the middle! Valiant Thrust!"

"I activate my Trap, Magic Cylinder!" Samantha announced as Noble Prince charged across the field. "This card redirects your puppet's attack right back at you!"

Two decorative purple and yellow cylinders appeared in the air behind Samantha. Noble prince ended up charging into the cylinder on the left and came out of the end of the cylinder on the right, charging back across the field towards Thomas. The marionette thrust his large sword at Thomas, striking him in the chest and nearly knocking him onto his back. Thomas's life points took a heavy drop to 1500.

"Are you done?" Samantha asked.

Thomas scowled and got back to his feet. "I set one card on the field and end my turn!"

Samantha drew her next card. "I activate the effect of all three Blood Red Witches! Each one can increase her level by one for every other Blood Red Witch on the field! Which means each of my witches becomes a level five!" The masked witched glowed briefly with a crimson aura. "Using my three level five monsters, I build the overlay network and Xyz Summon my ultimate monster! Arise, Number 665: Witch Queen Agatha!"

A red galaxy-like vortex appeared in the middle of the battlefield and pulled in Samantha's three witches as balls of orange energy. Rising out of the galaxy seconds later was a large ornate black sphere with what appeared to be a black and grey pin sticking through the top and bottom. On the front of the sphere in grey was a face consisting of two eyes and a jagged smile, and orbiting around it were three orange fireballs. The object quickly burst into flames to change form.

The flames quickly died down to reveal a woman with light-green skin wearing a black dress with long sleeves and a long skirt that completely covered her legs. She had long flowing dark-blue hair, and her fingers ended with sharp black nails that were like claws. The skin that showed on her neck looked like it had been burned, and a mask covered her face. The right side of the mask was white and looked like the face of a beautiful woman, while the left side was black and had a red eyes with half of a jagged red smile. On her head head the woman wore a large black conical hat with a wide brim and a yellow band with the number 665 written in red alien writing on the front.

"So that's Mitaka's Number." Shark observed. "It looks as badass as Kotori described."

Suddenly Astral's eyes went wide as his whole body briefly throbbed. The energy being then noticed that Agatha seemed to be giving off a very feint white light.

"Something wrong Astral?" Yuma asked.

"I am not certain." Astral answered.

Astral held out his hand and a ball of white light rose out of his palm. The light quickly took the form of three Duel Monsters cards. Each one was glowing with a white aura that seemed to be pulsing.

"Whoa! Where did those cards come from?" a startled Shane asked. "And how are they floating in the air?"

"That's the doing of Yuma's friend, Astral." Hikari explained.

"You… you mean that alien you were talking about?" Shane asked. "So why is he doing that little card trick for us?"

"Hey! Those are the Gimmick Puppet Numbers that Thomas used." Shark observed.

"Why'd you take those out, Astral?" Yuma asked.

"I don't know why, but these Numbers seem to be resonating with Mitaka's." Astral answered.

"But why would that be happening?" Michael asked.

"Is this because Thomas and Mitaka slept together?" Yuma asked.

"Wait, WHAT?" a stunned Michael exclaimed.

"Seriously?" an equally shocked Hikari asked.

"Yuma, you dumbass!" Shark cursed.

"That was something we were supposed to keep to ourselves!" Kaito told him.

"Oops. Sorry." Yuma sheepishly responded.

"I do not know the reason why these Numbers would be reacting to Mitaka's, but I suspect that Thomas is somehow the cause." Astral theorized. "These three cards have the forms they do because of Thomas. I believe there's a strong possibility that there's some kind of connection between Thomas and Mitaka. Something we don't know about."

"Agatha, burn that stupid doll to a crisp!" Samantha commanded back in the duel. "Vengeful Witchfire!"

"I activate my Trap, Negate Attack!" Thomas quickly announced.

Agatha took aim at Noble Prince with the palms of her hands and unleashed a massive storm of red flames at him. Before the attack could hit though, a large vortex appeared in front of the puppet monster and sucked the maelstrom in.

"Nice try." Thomas told Samantha with a cocky smirk.

"…I end my turn." Samantha announced.

"Guess Thomas has this in the bag." Anna assumed up in the stands. "All he has to do is activate Noble Prince's effect and Mitaka's finished."

"No. That's the last thing he should do." Kotori told her.

"That's right. You told us about Witch Queen Agatha's effect." Durbe recalled.

"If Thomas tries to use Noble Prince's effect to destroy Agatha, he's done for." Kotori responded.

Thomas drew his next card. "It all ends here! I activate Noble Prince's effect and detach an overlay unit to destroy Witch Queen Agatha!"

"No don't!" Kotori called.

Samantha's lips curled into a grin. "You've just killed yourself. I activate Agatha's effect! By detaching an overlay unit when a monster effect is activated, Agatha can negate the effect, destroy the monster and deal damage equal to that monster's ATK!"

"What!" a shocked Thomas exclaimed.

As the remaining ball of light orbiting Noble Prince entered his crown, one of the fireballs orbiting Agatha entered the red eye on the black side of her mask. A large red fireball formed in the witch's hand and she threw it at Thomas's marionette prince. Upon being struck in the chest, Noble Prince was set ablaze.

"Yes! Burn as I once did!" Samantha laughed madly. "Burn and know the same pain and agony that I was made to feel!"

As Noble Prince's body burned, the three Number cards that Astral was holding began to pulse faster. At the same moment that Thomas's monster exploded and brought his life points to zero, the Number cards gave off a blinding explosion of white light that washed out the entire stadium.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I apologize for the somewhat short chapter. If it's any consolation, the next chapter will likely be a long one since it's going to be mostly flashback. I also apologize if the duel in this chapter wasn't the best one I've done. It was kind of a hard duel to write, since I've never used a Gimmick Puppet deck. I don't have any desire to use one either.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	15. Samantha the Witch

**Author's Note:** This is the first time I've had a chapter that took almost an entire week to write. Of course I'm still dealing with online class stuff, plus I wanted to do just a tiny bit of historical research before getting into this chapter. I can tell everyone right now that the historical accuracy of this chapter isn't going to be all that correct, but I did want to try and get a few things right.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.

* * *

Chapter 15: Samantha the Witch

 _Yuma and Astral found that they were standing (or floating, in Astral's case) in the middle of a dirt road going through a meadow. There was not much around them besides a couple of small nearby farmhouses and a heavily forested area just off to the left of where they stood. As Yuma looked around, he saw a man out near one of the farmhouses in the distance tending to his fields, proving that the area was not completely deserted. At the same time though, the place seemed to have a bleak almost desolate quality to it. Everything around the duo appeared to be tinted a deep sepia color as though they had stepped into an old movie._

 _"Where are we?" Yuma asked. "The last thing I remember is that big light that went off when Thomas lost the duel. It was almost like those Number cards exploded."_

 _Before Astral could attempt to answer Yuma's question, the two of them spotted a pair of young women in their late teens approaching them from the opposite direction. They were both wearing the drab grey and white dresses that were typically worn by women of the late 1600, which included white bonnets that completely covered their hair. Yet despite the bonnet, Yuma instantly placed the face of one of the two girls._

 _"Wait a sec… that one girl is Mitaka!" Yuma identified._

 _Samantha and the other young woman were talking to one another as they approached Yuma. They seemed to be completely unaware of Yuma's presence as they walked towards him and Astral. Before the young duelist could say anything to them, the two girls walked right through him and Astral as though they were made of air. Astral was unfazed by this occurrence, but Yuma let out a startled cry as he turned around._

 _"What the heck's going on?" Yuma asked._

 _"It would appear that we're having a vision of Mitaka's past life." Astral deduced. "What we are seeing is merely an illusion."_

 _"So… I'm not dead?" Yuma asked._

 _"I do not believe so." Astral replied. "I suggest we follow after Mitaka and that other girl. It might be important."_

 _Yuma nodded and the two of them went after Samantha and her companion. The two girls still seemed to be in the middle of a long conversation._

 _"…You weren't at the town meeting hall last night." Samantha's friend spoke to her, apparently changing the topic of conversation._

 _"I had to stay home and take care of my mother. You know how poorly she's been feeling of late." Samantha informed her friend. "Besides Martha, you know how gloomy I find those meetings. Did something happen there that I should know?"_

 _"They found Prudence Goodwife guilty of witchcraft." Martha gravely answered. "She's to be executed this afternoon."_

 _Samantha stopped in her tracks upon hearing this news. "They found her guilty already? But they had only just accused her yesterday morning."_

 _"The evidence against her was strong." Martha responded with a slight shrug. "Poor Beatrice Simms, the young girl who said that Ms. Goodwife had been cursing her, ended up having a fit right there in the room during the trial. The court decided that was all the evidence they needed."_

 _"But don't you think it's a rush to judgment?" Samantha asked. "After all, Ms. Goodwife seems like such a kindly old woman."_

 _"Evil comes in many forms, Samantha." Martha told her. "The best way for it to hide is for it to wear the mask of an angel."_

 _"Well I hope you're not expecting me to come and watch them execute her." Samantha told Martha as she started walking again. "Whether she's a witch or not, the last thing I want to do is watch an old woman burn to death."_

 _"I would think that you would be a little bit more concerned by all this, Samantha." Martha responded as she quickly followed after her. "These are dark days we find ourselves in. It seems like witches are living all around us, and either of us could fall victim to their curses at any moment."_

 _"You always think about such gloomy things, Martha." Samantha told her. "Look around you! God has given us this beautiful sunny day, and you choose to squander it by worrying about witches and curses and all those other dreadful thoughts."_

 _Martha sighed and shook her head. "I really wish you wouldn't be so carefree about things, Samantha. I envy your ability to see the joy in life, but life is very serious too. Surly the fact that witches are hidden among us should be proof of that."_

 _"Maybe so, but I'm not going to let a few witches stop me from enjoying the fact that I'm alive." Samantha told her._

 _"Hey Astral, were witches really that big of a problem during whatever time this is?" Yuma asked._

 _"I do not know everything about your world's history, but I suspect that these people are merely being overwhelmed by superstition." Astral replied._

 _"So… then that old woman they're talking about probably wasn't a witch?" Yuma deduced._

 _"I suspect not." Astral answered._

 _Samantha and Martha's conversation came to an abrupt halt when a young man suddenly appeared in their path and approached them. Yuma did a double take when he saw the young man's face. He looked exactly like Thomas. The scar that Thomas had on his face as a result of the fire he caused while dueling Rio years ago was missing, but aside from that the young man was a dead ringer for the duelist formerly known as IV._

 _"There you are, Samantha!" the Thomas-lookalike greeted. "I've been looking all over the village for you."_

 _"Well, here I am." Samantha cheerfully responded._

 _"Hello Adam." Martha spoke._

 _"Oh, good afternoon Martha." Thomas's double replied upon finally noticing Samantha's friend. "Samantha, can I talk to you in private? There's an urgent matter I must discuss with you."_

 _"Why Adam Smith, if I didn't know better, I'd say you were trying to get me alone somewhere to have your way with me." Samantha jokingly replied._

 _"Please Samantha, this very important." Adam told her with a very serious look in her eyes._

 _"Well alright then." Samantha replied. "Martha, I hope you'll excuse Adam and I."_

 _"Of… of course." Martha told her, as an insincere smile seemed to come to her face. "I'll see you later then."_

 _With that, Samantha and Adam walked into the small gathering of trees beside them on the path. Martha remained on the path and watched them go, her hands balling into fists at her sides. Yuma was oblivious to this though, as he was too stunned by the appearance of Thomas's double._

 _"Why is there a guy who looks like Thomas in this vision?" Yuma asked._

 _"Yuma, I don't think that the young man we saw Mitaka leave with simply looks like Thomas." Astral told him. I believe this Adam Smith may in fact be Thomas in a past life."_

 _"What makes you say that?" Yuma asked._

 _"This vision seems to be the result of the Numbers Thomas once used resonating with Mitaka's Number." Astral explained. "The reason for that must be because the two of them share a past life connection."_

 _Before Yuma could fully react to this revelation, the duo saw Martha suddenly take off into the trees after Samantha and Adam. Yuma and Astral quickly followed to see what she was up to. In a matter of moments the three of them came to a small clearing where they found the young couple. Martha hid herself behind one of the trees in order to watch them._

 _"So what's so urgent that you had to speak to me alone?" Samantha asked._

 _Adam took a deep breath before turning around to face Samantha. "I… I spoke to your father earlier today. He's given his permission for us to wed when we come of age."_

 _"Are… are you asking me to marry you?" Samantha asked._

 _"I believe I am, yes." Adam confirmed. "So what is your answer, Samantha Warren?"_

 _"My answer is yes!" Samantha gleefully replied as she dashed over and hugged him. "Oh Adam! You've made me so happy!"_

 _"Whoa! I didn't see that coming." Yuma declared. "You know… they actually do seem like a good couple."_

 _"Someone here seems to disagree." Astral told him, glancing over in Martha's direction._

 _Yuma looked and saw that Martha did indeed seemed to be unhappy about Adam's marriage proposal. Her teeth were gritted in anger and it looked like the thick tree branch her hand was on might actually break in her grasp._

 _"I've got a bad feeling about this." Yuma remarked._

 _Suddenly everything around Yuma and Astral turned into a hazy mist. In mere moments the mist reformed into a new setting. Yuma and Astral found that they were standing inside the dining room of a house in the middle of evening. Samantha was sitting at the dinner table with a man who had grizzled features and long red hair the same color as her own, and a woman with long dark hair and a pale complexion. Astral and Yuma quickly deduced that these two people were Samantha's parents._

 _"So… anything happen these past two days I was away on business?" Samantha's father asked._

 _"I ran into Adam the afternoon a couple of days ago." Samantha answered. "He told me of the conversation you and he had before you left."_

 _"I see." Samantha's father replied. "You and Adam make a good pair, daughter. That is why I gave him permission to marry you when the time finally came. I trust you approve."_

 _"Very much so, father." Samantha replied with a rather large smile._

 _"Well I do not approve." Samantha's mother declared with a very stern expression. "That Adam Smith is far too carefree for my liking. Our daughter should be matched with someone more serious and practical."_

 _"Mother, please! I do not wish to have this conversation again!" Samantha told her, trying to keep her voice quiet._

 _"It is simply the way I feel, daughter, and no amount of protesting from you will change that." Samantha's mother told her._

 _"Madam, you do realize that Adam's father, Gideon is a good friend of mine." Samantha's father reminded her. "That is part of the reason why I agreed to the arrangement. Now I have made my decision, and you, my dear wife must live with it."_

 _Before the rather heated conversation could get any further, the door to the house was busted inward. Samantha and her parents quickly rose to their feet and three men barged into the small dining room._

 _"Here now! What is the meaning of this?" Samantha's father demanded to know._

 _"Samantha Warren, you have been accused of witchcraft!" the lead man informed her. "You are to be arrested and shall stand trial tomorrow."_

 _"Witchcraft? That's absurd!" Samantha's father declared._

 _"I don't believe it! Who would accuse me of such a terrible thing?" a horrified Samantha asked._

 _"I would think you would know very well who has accused you." The lead man responded with a slight smirk. "But since you wish to feign ignorance, I shall humor you. The one to lay this accusation is young Martha Proctor. She claims that you've been trying to curse her to death for the past two nights."_

 _"Martha? But that's… that's insane!" Samantha told them. "Why would Martha say such things about me?"_

 _"Take her away!" the lead man ordered._

 _The other two men that had burst into the house grabbed Samantha by the arms and dragged her out of the room as she struggled. Samantha's parents merely looked on in horror as their daughter was taken away, and that was the only thing that Yuma and Astral could do as well._

 _"Hey Astral… Mitaka didn't really put a curse on that Martha girl, did she?" Yuma asked, though he had already guessed the answer._

 _"No. Clearly Martha lied in order to get Mitaka out of the way so that she could try to win over Thomas romantically." Astral answered. "What I'm finding extremely difficult to comprehend though is how the people of this time could easily believe such an accusation."_

 _Everything around Yuma and Astral suddenly dissolved into mist again, which quickly reformed into a different setting. The duo was now standing inside a large courtroom or town hall. The sun was streaming through the windows, indicating that it was daytime. Samantha was standing at the front of the room between two large men that appeared to be guarding her. The redhead's hands were bound in front of her with rope. The large room was filled with people from the village, including Adam, Samantha's parents, and Martha._

 _At the far end of the room, five men were sitting behind a large wooden table elevated by a platform. The man sitting in the middle appeared to be in his late fifties. He had long grey hair and a very stern, almost angry looking face. Yuma noticed a gavel in the man's hand and assumed that he was some kind of judge. Many of the villagers in the hall were talking amongst themselves until the judge banged his gavel on the table, bringing the entire room to silence._

 _"Samantha Warren, you stand accused of the heinous crime of witchcraft." The judge spoke. "Before we begin the proceedings, do you have anything to say in your defense?"_

 _"All I have to say is that I do not know why I am standing here before you today." Samantha responded. "For the past three days I've spent in that horrible jail cell, I've been trying to understand the answer to that question and have come up with nothing. I cannot figure out why one of my dearest friends would accuse me of such a horrible thing."_

 _"Hey, shouldn't Mitaka have like a lawyer or something?" Yuma asked._

 _"It seems that these people already consider her guilty." Astral observed. "This so-called trial is probably nothing more than a formality."_

 _"What sort of proof do you have that says I am what I've been accused of being?" Samantha asked._

 _"That is what this trial is meant to answer." The judge told her. "We will now hear the spectral evidence against Ms. Warren. I call Martha Proctor to the stand."_

 _Martha got up from her seat in the audience and walked over to sit in the little chair in the corner that served as a witness stand. She slouched and glanced over at Samantha with a fearful look on her face._

 _"Ms. Proctor, I'm sure that it has taken you great courage to step forward before and speak here today." The judge told her. "The court commends you for this. Now, if you may, please tell us what happened to you four nights ago on the night of June fifth."_

 _"I… I had just retired to the night to my bed." Martha began. "Just before I was about to drift away into sleep, my entire body suddenly felt as though it was being squeezed by something. My parents told me that I was having some kind of fit, though I have no memory of this. What I do remember though is seeing a specter appear before my eyes. At first it was just a shape, but then I could see its face clearly. It was the face of my friend, Samantha Warren._

 _"The next thing I remember was her reaching into my chest and if felt like my heart was being squeezed. I called out to Samantha over and over again to stop, but she wouldn't! She simply squeezed tighter and tighter, grinning as she did so. I don't know why she released me, but the next thing I knew, I was sitting up in my bed terrified. I'm certain that if that demon hadn't released me, I might've died."_

 _"Why do you think that Samantha Warren tried to kill you with that curse?" the judge asked._

 _"I do not know… but there is one thing that I am fairly sure of." Martha responded. "Samantha Warren has used her black magic to bewitch Adam Smith into loving her!"_

 _The stunned villagers began to murmur amongst themselves. The judge banged his gavel, bringing the room to silence once more._

 _"Thank you, Ms. Proctor. You may step down." The judge told her. "I now call the next witness. Beatrice Warren, please step forward."_

 _As Martha returned to her seat in the audience, Samantha's mother got up. An expression of utter shock was on Samantha's face as Beatrice took the stand._

 _"Mrs. Warren, I'm sure it must be very difficult for you to come here today as a witness." The judge told her. "But if there is evil in this village, it must be exposed so that we can be rid of it."_

 _"I know my duty, sir." Beatrice told him. "It is painful for me to accept, but I know that I am doing God's will by sitting here and saying what I know."_

 _"Then by all means, madam. Testify so that justice may be done." The judge replied._

 _"I'm sure that it is no secret that I have been feeling poorly for the past few weeks." Beatrice began. "Before I thought that I was suffering from a common malady, but after hearing about what has happened to poor Martha I'm now know why I have been ill as of late. My own daughter has been trying to curse me to death!"_

 _"Mother!" a horrified Samantha exclaimed as the audience gasped._

 _"And why madam, would your own daughter wish to curse you?" the judge asked._

 _"Because I didn't approve of her relationship with Adam Smith!" Beatrice answered. "And because of that, she tried to curse me to death so I would not stand in her way! But I will not submit to evil so easily!"_

 _"Mother, how can you say such things?" Samantha asked as tears came to her eyes._

 _"Do not speak to me, you wicked thing!" Beatrice told her. "I see now what an evil child that you truly are, and I curse the day I ever gave birth to you! As far as I am concerned, you are no daughter of mine!"_

 _Samantha was completely dumbstruck by her mother's proclamation. Once more, the judge banged his gavel to silence the crowd._

 _"This court will be in recess for one half hour to allow Mrs. Warren the time to compose herself." The judge decided._

 _"No way! I think I get why Martha would lie about Mitaka… about Samantha being a witch, but why would her mom lie too?" Yuma asked._

 _"I do not believe she is lying." A visibly stunned Astral answered. "It seems she truly believes that Samantha cursed her, all because of Martha's false accusation."_

 _"But how could Samantha's mom… how could all these people be buying into it?" Yuma asked. "It's all just so stupid!"_

 _"I have absolutely no idea." Astral answered. "Such behavior completely defies logic."_

 _As Samantha was being taken away, the surroundings once again dissolved into mist. When the mist reformed, Yuma and Astral were inside a jail cell with Samantha. The redhead was pacing around the small cage with fresh tears still on her face. Suddenly the door to the room outside the cell opened and Adam walked in. The young man had an almost dead look on his face as he approached._

 _Samantha instantly went to the wall of her cell and put her fingers through the bars. "Oh Adam! You have no idea how happy I am to see you."_

 _"Samantha, I… I merely came here to say my goodbyes." Adam told her._

 _"Wh-what are you talking about?" Samantha asked as the smile vanished from her face._

 _"I… I cannot love you, Samantha. Not now that I know what you are." Adam told her._

 _"You… you actually believe what they're all saying about me?" a shocked Samantha asked as she backed away from the bars in horror._

 _"I do not wish to… but after speaking to Martha before the trial and hearing what your mother said on the stand, how can I not believe it?" Adam replied._

 _"But what they're saying are lies! All lies!" Samantha insisted. "You would throw away what we have because of that?"_

 _"What we had, was not real!" Adam told her. "Don't… don't try and deny it. I've seen what you truly are now. I merely came here to say goodbye… and to tell you that I could never love a witch."_

 _With that, Adam turned away and walked for the door. Samantha frantically called Adam's name, but the Thomas lookalike didn't respond. Suddenly everything turned to mist again, and in seconds Yuma and Astral were back in the courtroom. Samantha was standing before the judges between her two guards and Adam was on the stand._

 _"Adam Smith, the court understands that you have something you wish to add to the record before sentence is carried out." The judge spoke. "Please, tell us what you wish to say."_

 _"I… Adam Smith… at this moment, denounce Samantha Warren as a witch." Adam declared. "It is clear to me now that she has used her black magic to bend me to her will. But I have come to my senses now and see what she truly is. She is a witch, and we must not allow her to live."_

 _"Adam! How can you say this?" a horrified Samantha asked._

 _The judge banged his gavel and brought the room to silence. "Samantha Warren, in light of the spectral evidence brought before us today and the testimony of Adam Smith, this court finds you guilty of witchcraft and consorting with the devil. As punishment, you shall be burned at the steak tomorrow at dawn. This court is now adjourned."_

 _As the guards began to drag Samantha off, the surroundings around Yuma and Astral turned to mist again. The duo was once again inside Samantha's cell. The redhead was sitting on the hard bench that served as a bed with her face buried in her hands. There was darkness outside the barred window of the cell, telling Yuma and Astral that night had fallen. Suddenly the door to the room outside the cell opened, causing Samantha to look up. Yuma could see that her eyes were bloodshot from crying._

 _The person walking up to the cell was Martha. Samantha rose from the bench and walked up to the bars of the cell to face her._

 _"Tell me why, Martha." Samantha spoke. "Why did you say all those lies about me?"_

 _"Why? Because it was the only way." Martha answered with a cold expression. "The only way to remove you from Adam's life."_

 _"This… this whole thing is about Adam?" Samantha asked. "I don't understand."_

 _"Of course not. You never did." Martha responded. "You've always thought that the sun rose and set just for you. Never once did you ever consider my feelings or even notice them. Otherwise you might've realized that I've loved Adam since we were children. I never had the strength of heart to tell him how I felt, and then one day you simply moved in and stole his heart. I stood by and held my peace, trying my very best to be happy for you both. But when I saw Adam propose to you, I knew I could stand by no longer."_

 _"So… so you made up that story about being cursed and accused me of being a witch?" Samantha asked._

 _"As I said, it was the only way to remove you from Adam's life." Martha told her. "Maybe what I have done was wrong, but Adam belongs with me! Not you! If the only way to remove you from his life is to take away yours… then so be it. Goodbye, Samantha."_

 _With that, Martha turned and walked out of the room. As soon as the door was shut and locked behind her, Samantha screamed and kicked the dirt floor of her cell. She glanced down and noticed something under the dirt giving off a white light. The redhead bent down and unearthed the object. As Samantha examined the object in her hand, it suddenly transformed into an Xyz Monster card with the name, Number 665: Witch Queen Agatha._

 _"That's…." Yuma began._

 _"One of the Numbers used by the Death Queens." Astral finished._

 _As Samantha continued to look at the card, everything turned to mist again and Yuma and Astral found that they were outside in a clearing filled with villagers. Looking around, Yuma quickly saw Samantha tied to a wooden steak with dead branches piled at her feet. The redhead had a dead look in her eyes, and the card for Number 665 was still in her hand. Suddenly Yuma noticed a man with a torch approaching the pyre. Yuma called out for the man to stop, but his voice wasn't heard._

 _In seconds the pile of dead wood at Samantha's feet was set ablaze. Yuma and Astral both watched in horror as the villagers began to sing a hymn. One of the pieces of wood popped, creating a massive spark that burned the left side of Samantha's face. The redhead screamed in pain and looked at the crowd of singing villagers with hate-filled eyes._

 _"You…" Samantha spoke in a low hateful voice as a tear rolled down her other cheek. "YOU ALL DESERVE TO DIE!"_

 _Suddenly Samantha was completely consumed by the flames, and the pyre seemed to explode. A blinding white light from the explosion soon hit Yuma and Astral._

* * *

The light faded and everything in the stadium returned to normal. Many of the audience members were looking around trying to figure out what had caused the blinding light that by their perspective had lasted only for a few seconds. Samantha and Thomas meanwhile were standing on stage looking completely shocked.

"What… what the hell was that?" Thomas asked.

"You… saw it too?" Samantha asked.

"Uh… the winner of this duel is Samantha Warren!" the referee finally declared.

In moments the audience began to cheer, seeming to get over the shock. Meanwhile, Yuma and Astral were down in the dugout looking just as shocked as Thomas and Samantha.

"What the hell was that just now?" Shark asked.

"Hey Yuma, you and Astral okay?" Hikari asked, finally noticing their reactions.

"How… how could they do that?" Yuma asked. "How could they have just burned her because of such an obvious lie?"

"I do not know, Yuma." Astral answered.

"What're you guys talking about?" Alit asked.

"When Mitaka launched her final attack, her Number somehow resonated with the Numbers once used by Thomas." Astral explained. "As a result, Yuma and I witnessed a vision of Mitaka's past life."

"Which means you must've seen how she was burned at the steak for being a witch." Kaito deduced.

"The series of events leading to Mitaka's death made no logical sense." Astral spoke. "I cannot comprehend how humans could behave in such a manner."

"I looked into those Salem Witch Trials after Kotori told us about Mitaka's past life, and I can tell you that there was nothing logical about them." Kaito told the energy being. "Those trials were nothing more than a case of mass hysteria brought on by a couple of girls coming down with an unknown illness. The people at the time didn't have any real form of medical science, so they blamed what happened on witches and the whole thing spiraled out of control."

"I just can't believe that Samantha died that way." Yuma spoke. "Her friend told one lie, and suddenly everyone turned on her. Her parents. Her boyfriend. Everyone. It just isn't right."

"What I don't understand is why Thomas's Number cards even resonated with Mitaka's in the first place." Michael interjected.

"It's because Thomas was there in Mitaka's past life." Astral informed him.

"Seriously?" Shark asked.

"Yeah. He was Samantha's boyfriend." Yuma confirmed.

Thomas returned to the dugout with a sort of dazed look in his eyes. Michael quickly went over to him to see how he was.

"Thomas, what happened?" Michael asked. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Thomas replied flatly. "I'm gonna head home now since I'm out of the tournament."

With that, the puppet duelist walked towards the exit, not once looking back at the others. Michael attempted to go after him, but Cleo came over and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Let him go. I think he needs to be alone right now." Cleo told Michael.

"That's a little unexpected, coming from you." Shark told Cleo.

"Arclight isn't my favorite person in the world, but if what he saw in that light is the same thing that Yuma and Astral saw, I'm guessing he's experiencing something like I did after Rio's accident." Cleo told him. "He's going to need some time."

"The final duel of the preliminary round shall be between Chitose Amamiya and Alit!" the referee announced. "The duel will begin in ten minutes!"

"Well, it looks like my time's finally come." Alit observed.

"Be careful out there, Alit." Yuma told him.

"Don't worry Yuma, I've got this under control." The boxer duelist assured him. "In fact, I've kinda been looking forward to this duel."

Meanwhile, Samantha finally returned to the other dugout and punched the rear wall with her fist. She soon realized that Chitose and Alnia were both looking at her.

"Are you okay, Mitaka?" Chitose asked.

"What the hell happened up there?" Alnia asked.

"I don't know!" Samantha told them. "I don't know why I saw all that at the end."

"Saw what?" Alina inquired.

"…Nothing." Samantha answered after a moment. "Just leave me alone right now, okay? I beat that son of a bitch, so get off my back."

"Okay, fine." Alnia agreed as she put up her hands in surrender. "Well Anitak, it looks like you're up. You better not lose this time."

"Do not worry, Alnia. This duel with Alit will be far different than my last one with him." Chitose assured her. "This time, I'm not going to be holding anything back."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** When I did my quick research of the Salem Witch Trials in preparation for this chapter, I was surprised to learn that nobody who was accused of being a witch was actually burned. The burning of witches happened over in Europe. Those in Salem who were accused of witchcraft were hung, as witchcraft was considered treason and that was the particular punishment for that crime. I apologize for that little historical error in this trilogy.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	16. The Student and Boxer Rematch

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.

* * *

Chapter 16: The Student and Boxer Rematch

The ten-minute break between duels was almost over, and Alit was already waiting up on stage. He did a final check of his deck to make sure that everything was in order. Alit couldn't wait for his duel with Chitose to get started. He knew what was at steak and knew that Chitose was an enemy, yet at the same time Alit couldn't help but be eager to face Chitose on the battlefield again. Part of it was simply because of his nature as a fighter, but another part of it was because that even though Chitose was an enemy, Alit just couldn't see her that way.

At long last, the break ended and Chitose walked onto the stage. She looked across the stage at Alit with the same emotionless expression that she always had, yet Alit could see a fiery determination in her eyes.

"Well, here we are again." Alit remarked. "I can't wait to see what kind of fight you give me."

"This duel will not be like our last encounter." Chitose informed him. "In that duel, and in my duel against Yuma, I held back because I underestimated you both. This time I will use my full strength to eliminate you."

"Now that's what I like to hear." Alit responded. "Bring it on!"

"The final duel of the preliminary round shall be between Chitose Amamiya and Alit!" the referee announced. "Let the duel begin!"

With that, Alit activated his D-Gazer and duel disk. At the same time, Chitose's left eye changed from green to gold and her lower left arm changed, becoming almost like an elbow-high gauntlet made of black armor with a silver blade-like duel disk attached. Her hand though appeared to be bare, but was copper-colored and had sharp silver claw-like nails. Once the audience members activated their D-Gazers in order to watch, the color of the surrounding area changed.

"I'll start this off!" Chitose declared as she drew her first card. "I set two cards on the field. Then I summon Delinquent Student Shauna in Defense Mode!"

Appearing on Chitose's side of the field in a kneeling position was a young woman with very long red hair that was tied into pigtails and a pair of golden eyes. She had on what looked like a school uniform consisting of a purple jacket with black trim over a white shirt and a short green skirt. The sleeves of her jacket were rolled up and the top few buttons of the redhead's shirt were undone, revealing a little bit of her cleavage.

"So Anitak uses monsters based on high school students, huh?" Hikari observed down in the dugout.

"Yeah, and not counting her number she has three different kinds of 'em." Yuma responded.

"Makes sense, considering Anitak was a high school student who offed herself in her past life." Shark remarked.

"Yuma, you said there were three different varieties of these Student monsters that Anitak uses?" Cleo asked.

"As far as I know, anyway." Yuma replied. "Alit and Kotori would probably know more than I do since they've seen more of her cards in action."

"Do you find something strange about this, Ms. Cleo?" Astral asked.

"Maybe… I guess we'll just have to wait and see." Cleo replied.

"I end my turn there." Chitose announced.

Alit drew his first card. "I summon Battlin' Boxer Headgeared in Attack Mode!"

Appearing on Alit's side of the battlefield was a dark-grey humanoid with glowing red eyes and almost rock-like skin. Red boxing gloves covered his hands, and covering his head was a piece of red boxing headgear.

"I activate the Spell, Ring Announcer and summon Battlin' Boxer Glassjaw!" Alit announced.

Materializing next to Headgeared was a very muscular humanoid with green skin with red glowing eyes wearing strange white and black shorts. He had black boxing gloves on his hands and black headgear covering his head.

"I overlay the level four Glassjaw and Headgeared to Xyz Summon Battlin' Boxer Lead Yoke!" Alit announced.

A swirling red vortex appeared in the middle of the field and pulled in the two boxers as balls of orange energy. Rising out of the center only seconds later was a large muscular warrior with dark-grey skin dressed like a Roman gladiator. He had a silver mask and helmet covering his head. His arms and neck were bound by a massive metal restraint with wood and chains. Orbiting around the warrior were two balls made of red light.

"For my next move, I detach an overlay unit from Lead Yoke to summon Battlin' Boxer Shadow!" Alit announced.

One of the orbiting balls of light around Lead Yoke broke away and went into the ground. Rising out of the spot where the ball struck was a dark-grey lean yet muscular figure wearing black boxing gloves and headgear. Soon after the new boxer appeared, Lead Yoke flexed his left arm and broke part of the massive restraint that bound him.

"Each time Lead Yoke loses an overlay unit, his ATK goes up by 800 points." Alit announced. "Which means his ATK goes up to 3000."

"Shadow, attack Delinquent Student Shauna!" Alit commanded. "Shadow Punch!"

Shadow dashed across the field and punched Shauna several times with his right fist. After being struck in the jaw, the redheaded student was knocked backward and quickly shattered into bits of light.

"I activate my Trap, Soul Rope!" Chitose announced. "When a monster of mine is destroyed, I can pay 1000 life points to summon a level four monster from my deck! I summon Model Student Harriet!"

Chitose's life points dropped to 3000, and less than a second later a new monster appeared on her side of the field. The monster in question was another young woman with long blond hair tied back in a braided ponytail and violet eyes. She had on a school uniform consisting of a white jacket with black trim over a white shirt with a red necktie, and a short green skirt. A black school bag was slung over the young woman's shoulder.

"When Harriet is successfully special summoned, I can summon another Student monster from my deck!" Chitose announced. "I summon the Tuner monster, Model Student Tessa!"

Materializing on the field next to Harriet was another young woman with shoulder-length lavender hair and pale-green eyes behind a pair of glasses with round frames. She had on a uniform that was identical to Harriet's, and tucked under her left arm was a silver laptop.

"When Tessa is special summoned successfully, I can draw a card for each Student monster I have on the field." Chitose announced. "Since I now have two Students on the field, I can draw two cards."

"Did she say that new monster was a Tuner?" Hikari asked.

"Yuma, what's the third type of these Student monsters that Anitak uses?" Cleo asked.

"Um, if I'm remembering right, the third kind was Combat Students." Yuma answered.

"And what color jacket does that kind wear?" Cleo asked.

"Black, why?" Yuma asked.

"What're you thinking, Cleo?" Hikari asked.

"It may be nothing." Cleo replied. "Let's just wait and see."

"Interesting move, summoning a Tuner. But I'm afraid I can't let you pull off your plan!" Alit told Chitose. "Lead Yoke, attack Tessa!"

"I activate my Trap, Student Solidarity!" Chitose announced as Lead Yoke charged across the field. "When my opponent declares an attack while I have two Student monsters on the field, I can negate that attack and increase my life points by 1000!"

Just as Lead Yoke was about to punch Tessa with his free arm, a transparent blue sphere appeared around Tessa and Harriet. The giant boxer pulled his fist away as if he'd been shocked and Chitose's life points rose back up to 4000.

"Impressive." Astral remarked. "Anitak not only blocked the attack of Alit's strongest monster, she also made back the life points she paid to activate Soul Rope."

"And she lined up everything needed for a Synchro Summon all at the same time." Hikari added.

"Not bad." Alit praised. "I'll set one card on the field and end my turn!"

Chitose drew her next card. "To begin, I tune the level three Model Student Tessa into the level four Model Student Harriet for a level seven Synchro Summon!"

Tessa opened up her laptop and quickly typed a few things on the keyboard. As soon as she pressed enter, the lavender-haired girl flashed orange and changed into three rings made of green light. The rings encircled Harriet and transformed her into four white stars.

"Great mistress of academia, appear before us now! Enlighten the ignorant with your brilliant light!" Chitose chanted. "Synchro Summon! Come forth, Elite Student Prima!"

The stars flashed and became a pillar of white light and shot up into the sky. The light faded to reveal a young woman with long lavender hair that grew down to her waist. She had on a school uniform very much like the one worn by the Model Students that summoned her; only hers had a red armband with a gold star on the left upper arm. The new student monster had on a pair of visor-like sunglasses with attached earphones that had two black pointed antennas poking up through her long hair. Covering the student's hands was a pair of mechanical gloves that extended up to her elbows, with the right one having a small control panel on the wrist.

"Next, I activate the Spell card, Malicious Student Union!" Chitose announced. "By banishing a Delinquent Student and another Student monster from my Graveyard, I can use them as material to summon a Malicious Student Fusion Monster! I banish Delinquent Student Shauna and Model Student Tessa and use them to summon Malicious Student Angelique!"

A swirling dark vortex appeared in the air above the battlefield. Shauna reappeared in the air and flew up towards the vortex, pulling a frantic and seemingly unwilling Tessa behind her. The two of them vanished into the vortex, which exploded with a crackling flash of light a split second after they went in. Descending down to the field was a woman with light-grey skin and long wild white hair. She had red eyes and a mouth full of fangs, and a small pair of black horns grew from her forehead. On the woman's back was a large pair of bat-like wings and growing from her rear end was a thin cord-like tail tipped with an arrow-like point. The demon woman had on a uniform like Shauna's, only the sleeves of her jacket were torn off close to the shoulders and the bottom of her skirt was tattered. The top few buttons of her shirt were undone, revealing her ample cleavage.

"When Angelique is successfully Fusion Summoned, my opponent must send the top five cards of his deck to the Graveyard!" Chitose announced.

Angelique pointed a clawed right finger at Alit and struck his deck with a beam of orange light. The first five cards of his deck glowed orange, forcing Alit to dump them into the Graveyard slot of his duel disk.

"Angelique gains 300 ATK for each monster she sends to the Graveyard using her effect." Chitose announced. "Because you had to send four monsters to the Graveyard, Angelique's ATK rises from 2600 to 3800."

"A Synchro Summon and Fusion summon in the same turn. Not bad." Anna remarked up in the stands.

"Anitak used a Fusion Monster the last time she dueled Alit too, though it was a different one from this one." Kotori recalled.

"I activate the Spell card, Monster Reborn and summon Harriet back from the Graveyard!" Chitose announced. Harriet reappeared on the field between Prima and Angelique. "As you may recall, when Harriet is successfully special summoned, I can summon another Student monster from my deck. I summon Combat Student Chad!"

Appearing next to Harriet was a young man with long dark hair that grew down to obscure his left eye. He had on a school uniform made up of a black jacket with white trim over a white shirt with a red necktie, along with brown slacks and black shoes. The sleeves of the young man's jacket were rolled up just beneath the elbow. Both his hands and wrists were wrapped in white tape, and each hand was armed with a set of brass knuckles.

"I overlay the level four Combat Student Chad and Model Student Harriet to Xyz Summon Champion Student Ryuji!" Chitose announced.

A brown vortex appeared in the center of the field and pulled in Chad and Harriet at two balls of orange energy. Rising out of the vortex a moment later was a muscular young man with spiked golden hair that seemed to be glowing and green eyes. He had on a uniform similar to Chad's, only the sleeves had been completely torn from his jacket and in place of the normal buttoned white shit was a white muscle shirt. White tapped was wrapped around the young man's hands and wrists, and decorating each arm was a tattoo of a golden serpentine dragon. He had on a red belt with an oval-shaped gold buckle adorned with a black star, and orbiting around him were two balls of golden light.

"No way!" a stunned Alit spoke. Many of the audience members seemed to share his reaction.

"I've never seen anything like this before!" Michael spoke. "She summoned a Fusion, Synchro and Xyz Monster all in the same turn!"

"Anitak is indeed a formidable duelist." Astral remarked.

"Yeah. I guess she wasn't kidding when she told Alit she had been holding back against him and me in those other duels." Yuma agreed.

"This is indeed impressive, but this is just like how I was expecting things to go." Cleo spoke.

"Wait, you knew Anitak was going to pull off a move like this?" Shark asked.

"I wasn't certain, but it seemed very likely." Cleo answered. "Those different colored jackets that each of those Student monsters wear was a clue. It seems each of the different types, Delinquent, Model and Combat all ultimately specialize in a different summoning method."

"I get what you're saying. The Delinquent Students specialize in summoning Fusions, the Model Students are geared towards Synchro Summoning, and the Combat Students are used for Xyz Summoning." Hikari realized. "It's like each group focuses in a different area of study."

"Or each group is from a different academy that focuses on each different summoning method." Cleo theorized. "Either way, the three groups together seem to be a formidable force."

"Champion Student Ryuji can only be destroyed in battle with a Fusion, Synchro or Xyz Summon." Chitose continued. "Not only that, he gains 300 ATK for every other Student monster on the field, which means his ATK increases from 2500 to 3100. I now activate Elite Student Prima's effect! Once per turn, she can target a monster who's current ATK is higher than it original value and gain the same amount of ATK until the end of the turn. And the monster I'm targeting for this effect is Ballin' Boxer Lead Yoke!"

Prima pressed a small button on the right side of her visor, which then fired a beam of blue light that struck Lead Yoke in the chest. A glowing blue wireframe of Lead Yoke appeared around Prima and turned into energy that went into her body. Prima was then glowing with a brilliant blue aura.

"Since Lead Yoke has gained 800 ATK with his effect, Prima's ATK rises from 2700 ATK to 3500 ATK." Chitose announced.

"Not good. Now all of Anitak's monsters have over 3000 ATK." Rio observed up in the stands.

"C'mon Alit! Hang in there!" Gilag called.

"That dolt had better not lose." Mizael grumbled.

"Prima, attack Lead Yoke!" Chitose commanded. "Data Destroyer!"

"I activate Lead Yoke's effect!" Alit quickly announced. "By detaching one of his overlay units, I can prevent Lead Yoke from being destroyed in battle!"

Prima aimed the palms of her hands at Lead Yoke and fired an intense beam of blue light at him. Just before the beam struck, the final ball of light orbiting around the giant gladiator vanished. Lead Yoke was hit in the chest but withstood the attack. Alit's life points dropped to 3500. Soon after, Lead Yoke flexed his bound arm and completely broke free of his restraint.

"That move kind of worked against you, since now Lead Yoke has 3800 ATK because he lost his last overlay unit." Alit told Chitose.

"I had anticipated that." Chitose replied. "I attack Lead Yoke with Ryuji, and by doing so I activate his effect! When Ryuji attacks a monster in Attack Mode, I can detach one of his overlay units and drop the ATK value of his target by a value equal to the target's DEF during the battle. Which means Lead Yoke's ATK will drop to 1800!"

As Ryuji brought the bottom of his wrists together and pulled back his arms to take a fighting stance, one of the balls of light orbiting him entered the buckle of his belt. The tattoos decorating Ryuji's arms began to glow with a brilliant golden light.

"Ryuji, destroy Lead Yoke!" Chitose commanded. "Breaking Dragon Soul Shot!"

Ryuji thrust his hands forward and fired a massive beam of gold light at Lead Yoke. The head of the beam changed into the head of a dragon before striking Lead Yoke's chest and bursting out through his back. Lead Yoke's body shattered into bits of light and the beam kept on going to hit Alit. The boxer duelist was almost knocked off the stage as his life points dropped to 2200.

"Oh no! If Anitak's last attack gets through, Alit's done for!" Yuma realized.

"And now I shall end this." Chitose declared as Alit stood back up. "Angelique, destroy Battlin' Boxer Shadow and end this duel! Malice Hellfire Shot!"

A large red fireball formed in Angelique's right hand. The demon girl hurled the flaming sphere at Shadow, creating a massive explosion. When the smoke cleared however, Alit's life points were untouched.

"What did you do?" Chitose asked with a slight hint of irritation in her voice.

"I activated the Trap, Defense Draw." Alit explained. "This card blocked the damage from Angelique's attack and let me draw an extra card."

"Well done, but I'm afraid that only worked against you." Chitose told him. "When Angelique destroys a monster in battle, she inflicts 200 points of damage for each card in my opponent's hand. You currently hold two cards, which means you take 400 points of damage."

Angelique flapped her wings and sent forth a barrage of small fireballs at Alit. Alit raised his arms to try and shield himself, but his life points still dropped to 1800.

"I shall end my turn there. And with the end of my turn, Prima's ATK returns to 2700." Chitose announced. Prima's blue aura faded with the announcement. "Your move."

Alit grinned. "This was just the kind of duel I was expecting from you, Chitose. Glad I wasn't all pumped about this for nothing."

"I hardly see how you can be enjoying yourself." Chitose responded. "If anything, you should be begging for mercy. There is no way you can turn the current situation around."

"A true warrior never gives up when the odds are against him." Alit told her. "Get ready, because I'm about to turn this duel back around!"

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Hope everyone enjoyed the first part of Alit and Anitak's duel. I enjoyed writing this chapter because it gave the chance to show off what Anitak's Student monsters can do. I designed them to be able to Fusion, Synchro and Xyz Summon from the very beginning, but never really had the chance in the previous stories to show that capability. Actually, I had originally planned to have Anitak use Elite Student Prima in a tag duel with Mitaka against Kaito and Droite at the end of _The Heartland Witch_ , but as I was getting close to wrapping that story up I had decided it be simpler to have Kaito and Droite duel Alnia instead.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	17. Anitak's Grudge

**Author's Note:** Depending on his things for me over the next couple of days, this might be the last chapter I'll be able to put up before Sunday. Thanksgiving for me is kind of a two-day event since I celebrate it with two sets of relatives, and as a rule I usually don't write on Saturdays. So for now, enjoy this next little installment, which is the finale of Alit and Anitak's duel.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.

* * *

Chapter 17: Anitak's Grudge

"It is doubtful that you will be able to overcome me at this stage of the duel." Chitose told Alit. "You may continue to struggle if you wish, but it will not change the outcome of this duel. In the end, I will destroy you."

"We'll see about that!" Alit declared as he drew his next card. "I activate the Spell card, Spellbooks from the Pot, which allows us to both draw three new cards! Now I play Monster Reborn and summon Battlin' Boxer Headgeared from the Graveyard!" Headgeared rematerialized on Alit's side of the field. "Next I summon Battlin' Boxer Veil in Attack Mode!"

Appearing next to Headgeared was a humanoid figure wearing knee-high red boots and a grey mask attached with brown leather straps that completely covered his face. Adorning his arms were the two halves of a large round yellow shield.

"I now overlay the level four Headgeared and Veil to Xyz Summon Battlin' Boxer Solar Tekko!" Alit announced.

A yellow vortex appeared in the center of the field and pulled in Alit's two boxers as balls of orange energy. Rising out of the vortex a moment later was a lean but muscular warrior with silver skin. A gold helmet like that worn by a medieval knight covered his head and obscured his face. His upper torso was covered in a piece of gold armor with the symbol of the sun on the chest, and on his back were six golden blades arranged like the rays of the sun. Pieces of gold armor covered his waist, and on each hand was a blade-like weapon similar to brass knuckles. Orbiting around the new boxer were two balls of golden light.

"Solar Tekko gains 200 ATK for each special summoned monster my opponent controls." Alit announced. "Which means since you have three specially summoned monsters out, Tekko's ATK jumps from 2500 to 3100."

"Your new monster's ATK bonus is irrelevant, since Ryuji and Angelique still have higher ATK." Chitose pointed out.

"Not for long, because now I activate the Spell card, Tiger Eye Stare!" Alit announced. "I can only activate this card when my life points are lower than my opponent's and I have a Battlin' Boxer monster on the field! Until the end of this turn, the ATK of all my opponent's monsters drops by 1000!"

Solar Tekko's eyes from behind the eyeholes of his visor began to glow a bright red and his body gave off a red aura. Prima and Angelique both flinched at the sight of this and the expression of fear appeared on both their faces. Ryuji meanwhile tensed up and took a fighting stance.

"Now it's time for my comeback!" Alit declared. "Tekko, take out Angelique! Apollo Knuckle!"

Tekko charged across the field and punched Angelique in the stomach with his right fist. The demon student was knocked backwards and her body shattered into bits of gold light. Chitose's life points dropped to 3700.

"Since you now have only two special summoned monsters on the field, Tekko's ATK drops to 2900." Alit continued. "But now I activate Tekko's effect! By detaching an overlay unit when he destroys a specially summoned monster, Tekko can make another attack this turn! And this time, Tekko's target is Elite Student Prima!"

One of the balls of light orbiting Tekko entered the center of the sun symbol adorning his chest. Tekko charged over and punched Prima in the jaw with his left hand. Prima was knocked backward through the air and shattered into bits of light before she could hit the ground. Chitose's life points took another drop to 2500.

"Since you now only have one special summoned monster on the field, Tekko's ATK is now 2700." Alit continued. "But because he's the only Student monster on the field now, Champion Student Ryuji's ATK is now only 1500. I activate Tekko's effect and detach his final overlay unit to attack Ryuji! Apollo Knuckle!"

The final ball of light orbiting Tekko entered the solar symbol on his chest. Tekko dashed across the field to land a blow on Ryuji. Ryuji responded with a punch of his own, but Tekko quickly turned his body to avoid the attack and punched Ryuji on the cheek. Ryuji was knocked off his feet and his body shattered into bits of light. Chitose's life points dropped down to 1300. The audience cheered upon seeing Alit defeat all three of Chitose's monsters in a single turn.

"I'll set one card on the field and end my turn." Alit announced.

"Alit certainly seems to be having fun up there." Hikari observed.

"Of course he is. No matter what, Alit always has a blast when he's dueling." Yuma responded. "Especially when he's up against a tough opponent."

"Yeah! Now that's what I'm talking about!" Gilag cheered. "Alit's got this in the bag!"

"It's too soon to celebrate yet!" Mizael told him. "Alit may have defeated those three monsters, but Anitak still has that Number of hers."

"I have to say that it really is a thrill dueling you, Chitose." Alit told her. "You're one of the toughest opponents I've ever faced."

"Spare me your praise. I do not need it." Chitose coldly told him. "You and I are enemies, nothing more."

"That's not true. At least it isn't for me." Alit told her. "You and the other Death Queens may be trying to steal the Numeron Code to revive that Zorc guy, and you may have sent those psychic duelist assassins to kill me and my friends. But the truth it, Chitose… I've come to really care about you."

Chitose's eyes went wide upon hearing this. "You… you what?"

"Back when we first met, I was interested in you because you were cute." Alit continued. "But after I saw some of your past after our last duel… seeing how you died… I came to actually care about you. Seeing you suffer the way you did in that other life was like a thousand jabs to the gut." Alit paused and rubbed the back of his head as a blush came to his face. "Plus… I also remember what we did in that classroom. You know… after Durbe defeated that twerp, Mortimer and I came in and saw you still in that bikini?"

Chitose blushed and turned away from Alit. "That encounter was a mistake."

"Wait, is he saying that he and Anitak did what I think they did?" Shark asked as a realization hit him.

"It kind of looks that way." Kaito answered with a scowl.

"That moron." Cleo grumbled. "First Arclight and now him?"

"What're you guys talking about?" a confused Yuma asked.

"They seem to be implying that Alit and Anitak had sexual intercourse at some point." Astral explained.

"Oh…" Yuma responded. "Wait, WHAT?"

"Maybe it was, but it doesn't change the fact that I have strong feelings for you now, Chitose." Alit told her. "You didn't deserve all the crap you got in your past life. You didn't deserve to not have anyone care about you or to have people use and bully you. Even though you had no one in your old life, know that you have me! And I'll fight for you no matter what!"

"You… care about me?" Chitose asked coldly. "Well I couldn't care the least about you!"

Suddenly a pair of black-feathered angelic wings appeared on Chitose's back. A massive bolt of crimson lightning came down from the sky to strike her and Chitose changed into her true Barian form. Her skin had become the color of copper metal and her dark hair had not only lost its braided ponytail but turned silver and had grown all the way down to her waist. On the front of her stomach where her bellybutton would be was a red diamond framed in silver. Covering the Barian woman's chest was a piece of black armor with silver trim, decorated with a Barian Emblem in the center. Around her waist was a short tattered black skirt held in place by a golden belt with a silver buckle adorned with a red gemstone. Much of the audience members were startled on seeing Anitak in her true form.

"What the hell is that?" Shane exclaimed down in the dugout.

"You… you guys weren't kidding, were you?" Stacy asked the others up in the stands. "She really is a being from another dimension."

"Chitose Amamiya died long ago!" Anitak declared. "I am Anitak of the Barian Death Queens! And I will deliver death upon you and the rest of humanity!"

"Whoa! It's been a long time since I've seen Ani this fired up." Samantha remarked in the other dugout.

Alnia chuckled. "That dumbass, Alit's gonna be a bloodstain on the stage by the time Anitak's done with him."

"Your demise begins now!" Anitak declared as she drew her next card. The card she pulled from the deck flashed with a crimson light.

"Did she just…?" Yuma began to ask.

"Pull off a Barian Chaos Draw?" Shark finished. "Looks that way."

"I activate the Spell card, Repeat Term!" Anitak announced. "By banishing a Malicious Student, an Elite Student and a Champion Student monster from my Graveyard, I can special summon three Student monsters from my hand or deck at the cost of negating their effects! I call back to the classroom from my hand, Combat Student Kyoko, Model Student Shion and Delinquent Student Marco!"

Three new Student monsters appeared on Anitak's side of the field with flashes of blue, white and purple light. The first one, Kyoko, was a young woman who appeared to be in her mid to late teens. She had long dark-blue hair tied in a ponytail that went half way down her back and chocolate-brown eyes. Her uniform was almost exactly like Combat Student Chad's, only had a short green skirt. In her hands, Kyoko carried a long chain that ended with a spiked metal ball.

The second Student monster, Shion, a girl in her mid teens with short light-green hair, and purple eyes behind a pair of black oval-framed glasses. She had on the same uniform as Model Student's Harriet and Tessa, and under her left arm she carried a blue and white textbook. The third Student monster, Marco, was a young man in his mid teens with tan skin and long unkempt dark-brown hair. He had on a uniform like the one worn by Delinquent Student Shauna, only it had black slacks and brown shoes, and in place of a necktie, the young man wore a yellow bandanna around his neck.

"All monsters summoned by the effect of Repeat Term will be destroyed at the end of the turn." Anitak continued. "But that will not matter, as you will soon see. I activate the Spell card, Curse of Fiend! By the effect of this card, the battle positions of all monsters on the field change!" Solar Tekko took a kneeling position on the battlefield, as did the three Students. "Using the level four Kyoko, Shion and Marco, I build the overlay network and Xyz Summon my ultimate monster! Araise, Number 664: Ghost Student Mary!"

A massive vortex resembling a red galaxy appeared in the center of the field and pulled in Anitak's three monsters as balls of purple energy. Emerging from the phenomenon a moment later was an object resembling a broken mirror with three balls of purple light orbiting around it. A pair of bony chalk-white hands burst from the broken, followed by a pair of arms inside pink sleeves. Coming out of the mirror after the arms was a horrid-looking head of long stringy black hair. The only part of its chalk-white face that could be seen was a large red eye.

The thing soon emerged fully from the mirror and floated over the battlefield. It appeared to be female, a fact reinforced by the pink and blue school uniform it was wearing. There was a hole torn in the entity's pink jacket right below the right breast, revealing a set of ribs. Tied around each wrist was a set of two long chains that ended with hooks that rested on the ground. Glowing on the left lapel of the creature's jacket in red was the number 664. She had a very slender almost skeletal build, and her head was tilted to the right, revealing that the eye that was showing was her left one. Orbiting around the ghostly student were three balls of blue light that resembled will-o-wisps.

"Oh man… you weren't kidding, Yuma." A very unsettled Shark spoke. "That Number looks like something out of a horror movie!"

"That's Anitak's Number? Cool!" Vector declared up in the stands.

"You would say something like that." Rio told him.

"Now I activate the Spell card I drew at the beginning of this turn!" Anitak announced. "Rank-Up-Magic – The Devil's Triad!" The large card that appeared on the field showed an illustration of the Barian emblem hanging upside down behind three purple stars connected by bolts of purple electricity.

"Devil's Triad?" Alit repeated.

"Just as you former pawns of Don Thousand have your own exclusive Rank-Up-Magic card, we Death Queens have ours!" Anitak told him. "Using Ghost Student Mary, I open the gates of the underworld to rebuild the overlay network and summon a monster one rank higher! Arise, Number C664: Reaper Student Mary!"

A pillar of crimson light shot up from the ground beneath Mary, and a horrid scream could be heard from within. After a few moments, the light faded to reveal Mary in a new form. Her pink jacket had turned black with white trim, and the sleeves had been torn off to reveal slender arms wrapped in bandages. Her legs were wrapped in bandages as well, and her tie and skirt had turned purple. Mary's long stringy hair had changed from black to white, and her face had become covered in a mask made from stitched-together pieces of black leather. All that could be seen of the specter's face was an evil glowing red eye. Four long chains ending in large red hooks hung from her back, and in both hands Mary held a long scythe with a massive red blade at the top. Orbiting the malevolent spirit were four red fireballs that looked like will-o-wisps.

"Oh man! Just when I thought Anitak's Number couldn't get any creepier!" Yuma spoke as the color drained from his face.

"It's not only creepy, it also has 3800 ATK." Kaito pointed out.

"While Mary is on the field, the ATK and DEF values of all other face-up monsters are switched." Anitak announced. "Meaning Solar Tekko's ATK has become 2400."

"I'm guessing that there's more to Mary's new form than just that." Alit assumed.

"Right you are. I activate Reaper Student Mary's effect!" Anitak announced. "By detaching an overlay unit, I can change the battle positions of all monsters my opponent controls!"

One of the will-o-wisps orbiting Mary entered her glowing red eye. The four red chains on her back rose up and the ends dove into the ground as if it was made of water. Suddenly several hooked chains emerged from the empty space around Tekko and forced him to his feet, binding his arms and legs as well as his midsection.

"If the current ATK of a monster switched to Attack Mode by this effect is lower than its original ATK value, that monster is destroyed!" Anitak announced.

Mary raised the blade of her scythe and swung it down on Tekko. The solar boxer was cut down the middle and the two halves shattered into bits of gold light.

"Mary gains 500 ATK for each monster destroyed by this effect until the end of the turn." Anitak continued. "Meaning her ATK has just risen to 4300!"

Mary's body suddenly began to give off a blood red aura. Suddenly three rays of golden light shot up from the ground on Alit's side of the field into the sky. The lights soon faded to reveal Glassjaw, Headgeared and Veil.

"What is the meaning of this?" Anitak asked with fury in her voice.

"When Tekko his destroyed, I can summon three Battlin' Boxer monsters from the Graveyard." Alit explained.

"I see. So you were expecting me to destroy Solar Tekko and give you the material needed to summon your Number." Anitak observed. "But I will not let that plan succeed! Mary, attack Headgeared! Soul Cutter Scythe!"

"I activate my Trap, Negate Attack!" Alit announced as Mary raised her scythe. "My monsters aren't going anywhere!"

As Mary swung down the blade, a small vortex appeared above Headgeared. The vortex blocked the scythe and nearly knocked the large weapon out of Mary's hand.

"It seems you've extended your miserable life for one more turn." Anitak remarked. "In that case, I shall end my turn here. And with the end of my turn, Mary's ATK returns to its original value."

"Why are you so angry, Chitose?" Alit asked. "All I told you before was that I care about you."

"I told you before that Chitose Amamiya is dead." Anitak responded. "And you honestly expect me to believe that you truly have feelings for me? I know what people are truly like! The hell I lived through in my former life as Chitose showed me how wretched humans truly are! Every single one of them deserves to suffer a thousand times worse than I did! That is why my comrades and I seek to revive Lord Zorc! So that we can give the human race the hell that they deserve!"

"Not all people are like that, Chitose." Alit told her. "There were a few nice people in your past life, remember? Like that girl, Tea who helped you pick up your books that one time."

"A single act of kindness proves nothing." Anitak coldly replied. "Beyond that brief interaction, we had no other encounter with each other. For the rest of my time in that school she gave me the same kind of indifference as every other student who didn't delight in tormenting me! Nothing you say or do will convince me that you or anyone else ever cared about me in this life or my previous one!"

"We'll see about that!" Alit declared as he drew his next card. "Using the level four Glassjaw, Headgeared and Veil, I build the overlay network and Xyz Summon my ultimate fighter! Come forth, Number 105: Battlin' Boxer Star Cestus!"

A galaxy-like vortex appeared on the battlefield and pulled in Alit's three monsters as balls of red energy. Emerging from the vortex soon after was a large bronze object that was shaped almost like a bowtie. The object unfolded and expanded, taking the shape of a blue and grey armored warrior with golden yellow plates on his chest and legs. A golden yellow blade adorned the top of the warrior's head, and on his shoulders were two large blue armored plates trimmed a golden-yellow. The number 105 glowed in red alien writing on the armor of the warrior's right shoulder. Orbiting around the warrior were three balls of yellow light.

"Chitose, I told you before that I'd fight for you no matter what!" Alit told her. "And right now I'm going to fight you with everything I've got to get you back your heart!"

Suddenly Alit began to glow with a brilliant golden light. The same golden light began to shine from Star Cestus as well.

"What's going on?" Yuma asked.

"This power! It's the same kind Mizael used!" Kaito realized.

"So, that buffoon really did have what it takes to call upon a Shining Number." Mizael remarked.

"Using Star Cestus, I rebuild the overlay network and Xyz Summon a monster one rank higher!" Alit announced. "Come forth, Number S105: Battlin' Boxer Seraph Cestus!"

A golden vortex in the form of a galaxy appeared beneath Star Cestus as he changed back into the object he had first appeared as. The object receded back into the vortex, which shot a beam of golden light into the sky soon after. The light faded to reveal an object resembling a silver diamond-shaped shield with a gold cross on the front and ten gold-feathered wings on the back. Four balls of golden light orbited around the object. The shield then began to glow and change into a new form of Star Cestus.

The new incarnation of Alit's Number was clad in silver and gold armor. His helmet had a visor with a gold star-like cross that covered his eyes, and on the sides of his helmet were two small gold-feathered wings. Ten golden wing-like blades were on the warrior's back. The top left wing bore the number 105 in red alien writing. The same cross-like symbol that was on the warrior's helmet also adorned the armor on his chest, as well as on the back of the armor covering each of his hands.

A look of utter terror appeared on Alnia's face when she saw the Shining Number. "This… this can't be! Now there are two of those damn things?"

"Star Cestus is unaffected by my opponent's Xyz Monster effects, meaning his ATK and DEF aren't reversed." Alit announced.

"Perhaps, but your new monster only has 2500 ATK." Anitak pointed out. "There's no way it can overcome Mary!"

"Guess again, because I attack Mary with Seraph Cestus and activate his effect!" Alit announced. "When Seraph Cestus battles a monster while it has the original Star Cestus as an overlay unit, I can detach one overlay unit and have him gain that monster's ATK during the battle! Seraph Cestus, take Mary down and end this! Holy Knuckle!"

As Seraph Cestus charged at Mary, one of the balls of light orbiting him went into the star cross on his visor. Star Cestus gave off a brilliant golden aura as he moved in and delivered a powerful blow to Mary's stomach. Anitak doubled over as if she had been punched in the gut as well and her life points dropped to zero. Suddenly cracks of golden light began to form all over Mary's body. The same cracks started to appear all over Anitak as well. Anitak let out a scream and suddenly both she and Reaper Student Mary exploded with a blinding flash of white light.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I obviously had to make up a few new cards for Alit to use in his duel. The name of Alit's new Xyz Monster is based on an old Japanese weapon called a tekko. It's basically a brass knuckle-type weapon, only it has a blade instead of a metal knuckle (or whatever the proper term is). The name of the Spell card Alit used, Tiger Eye Stare, was a reference to the famous Survivor song, _Eye of the Tiger_. That song of course was used as the theme song for the movie, _Rocky III_. I guess I could've just called the Spell card, Eye of the Tiger but I didn't want to be blatantly obvious about it. Finally, before anyone asks, yes, Battlin' Boxer Seraph Cestus's appearance was molded heavily after Seraphimon from Digimon. His effect was originally going to be almost exactly like the effect of Utopia the Lightning as a reference to how Battlin' Boxer Comet Cestus and Utopia Ray V have the exact same effect, but when I wrote the duel, the doubled ATK just wasn't enough to bring Anitak's life points to zero.

That does it for the epic duel between Alit and Anitak. In the next chapter, we have yet another flashback to the past. A flashback that will include a few very special "guest stars". So stay tuned, and in case I don't update again until Sunday, happy Thanksgiving.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	18. The Pharaoh's Justice

**Author's Note:** Surprise! I wound up getting this chapter done two days earlier than I had said it would be finished. Thanks for that can be given to the fact my family had to move out Thanksgiving plans to Sunday due to bad weather in my region of the country. Anyway, the next chapter is going to include three (or rather four) very special "guest stars". Get ready, because we're about to go Yu-Gi-Oh! Season 0.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.

* * *

Chapter 18: The Pharaoh's Justice

 _Alit found that he was standing out in front of a familiar building. The building in question was Domino High, the school that Chitose had attended in her past life before she killed herself. Alit had only seen the building once before, when he had experienced a vision of Chitose's past life when their Numbers resonated at the end of their first duel. He assumed that the same thing was happening again from the explosion of light that had occurred when his Shining Number clashed with Chitose's Chaos Number. Everything around Alit was tinted with a bluish-grey, and almost everywhere outside the school there were students gathered together in little groups talking with one another._

 _"What is the meaning of this?" a familiar voice asked. Alit turned around and saw Chitose standing behind him in her human form. "Why are we here again?"_

 _"Hey, this wasn't my idea." Alit told her._

 _Before Chitose could respond, the two of them notice another Domino High student walk by them. The student in question was a young man who seemed to be quite short for his age. He had odd star-shaped hair that was primarily dark in color but had blonde locks hanging down around his face. Hanging from the young man's neck by a thick brown string was a large gold pendant in the form of an upside-down pyramid with an odd eye-like symbol on the front. Alit instantly recognized who the young man was._

 _"No way! Is that Yugi Muto?" Alit identified._

 _"From before he became the king of duelists." Chitose confirmed._

 _"Huh… he looks kind of different from a lot of the pictures I've seen of him." Alit noticed._

 _As Alit and Chitose watched Yugi approach the school, they spotted another young man with slightly long blonde hair sitting on the steps leading up to the door. The two instantly recognized him as Joey Wheeler, yet another legendary duelist and one of the people who bullied Chitose on a fairly regular basis. Joey had a very somber expression on his face and seemed so lost in thought that he didn't notice when Yugi walked up to him._

 _"Joey?" Yugi spoke, causing the blonde to look up. "You okay?"_

 _"Oh. Hey Yugi." Joey responded. "I'm okay. Just feelin' kinda down, is all."_

 _"You're still upset about that girl who killed herself, huh?" Yugi asked as he sat down on the steps next to Joey._

 _"Are they talking about me?" Chitose asked._

 _"I guess so." Alit asked. "Unless there was some other girl at your school who… you know."_

 _"I can't help but think that I'm the one who drove her to it." Joey told Yugi. "I'd pick on her almost as bad as I used to pick on you. I mean sure I was a different guy back then, but still…"_

 _"Joey, what happened to Chitose wasn't your fault." Yugi told him._

 _"Yugi's right, Joey." A familiar voice cut in. Yugi and Joey looked along with Chitose and Alit to see a young woman with shoulder-length brown hair approaching them._

 _"Oh, hi Tea." Yugi greeted._

 _"Guess you heard what we were talking about just now, huh?" Joey observed._

 _"Yeah, and you know I think we're all a little bit to blame for what happened to Chitose." Tea replied. "Every since they found her body three days ago, I've wondered if that maybe if I had been more of a friend to her this wouldn't have happened."_

 _"I thought you two were already friends." Joey recalled._

 _"Nah. The first time we ever actually spoke to each other was that time you tripped her in the hall and I helped her pick up her books." Tea revealed. "I tried reaching out to her a few times after that, but she was always so standoffish. It's like she wouldn't let anyone else in."_

 _"I know what you mean." Yugi replied. "I tried making friends with her a few times too, but she'd always tell me to go away."_

 _"You know… the reason I always picked on Chitose was because it always seemed like she thought she was better than everyone else." Joey admitted. "It kinda pissed me off. Maybe if I had tried to actually get to know her… I don't know."_

 _"I think it's pretty pointless to keep blaming ourselves for what happened." Tea told them. "What probably pushed Chitose over the edge were those pictures someone plastered outside the school. You know… the ones of her…"_

 _"Man, if I ever find out who took those pictures and put them up, I'm gonna make 'em regret the day they were ever born." Joey declared._

 _"I don't understand this at all." Chitose spoke. "Why would Joey Wheeler be so remorseful about my death?"_

 _"Maybe he's not as bad a guy as we both thought." Alit suggested._

 _Just then, a pair of male Domino High students walked past Yugi and the others._

 _"Hey, you know that girl who offed herself in the bathroom three days ago?" one of the students asked the other, getting the attention of Yugi and his friends. "I heard a rumor about her yesterday when I was on my way home."_

 _"Oh yeah? What is it?" the other student asked as they paused on the steps._

 _"You know Mr. Kirisaki who teaches 2A, right?" the first student began. "The word is that he'll give an A to any girl in his class who'll put out for him."_

 _"I heard the same thing." The second student recalled. "Wait, you're saying that Amamiya girl got it on with Mr. Kirisaki?"_

 _"The way I heard it, someone saw Amamiya go into the teachers' office as school was letting out the other day." The first student replied. "And those sexy pics of her looked like they were shot in there."_

 _"Oh man! Well, when you think about how much that girl liked studying and getting good grades, I'm not surprised that she'd do something like that." The second student replied with a slight laugh. "Guess she really was a whore."_

 _"Yeah, a grade whore." The first student responded. "We should probably get to class before we're late."_

 _"Is… is what they said true?" Yugi wondered._

 _"I don't know, but I have heard a few things about Mr. Kirisaki." Tea replied. "They say he's a total perv."_

 _"That bastard!" Joey cursed, striking the concrete step he was sitting on with his fist. "If he really did that to Amamiya, I'm gonna make him pay!"_

 _Suddenly everything around Chitose and Alit turned into mist. When the mist reformed, the two were standing in the room they knew as the teachers' office of Domino High. Sitting in an office chair throwing darts at a board across the room was a man with slightly long brown hair and a bit of stubble on his chin, wearing a tweed jacket over a polo shirt. Alit and Chitose both knew the man well as Mr. Kirisaki, the teacher who made Chitose have sex with him in order to get a passing grade on an exam. Alit wanted to storm over and punch the man in the face, but he knew that Kirisaki was nothing more than an illusion from the past that his fist would just pass right through._

 _As Kirisaki threw another dart at the board, the door to the lounge suddenly opened. Joey walked in and looked at Kirisaki with an almost murderous glare._

 _"Why Mr. Wheeler, isn't it?" Kirisaki spoke as he stood from his chair. "You know you're not exactly allowed in here."_

 _Joey said nothing and simply stormed over and punched Kirisaki in the face. The corrupt teacher was knocked to the ground._

 _"You scumbag!" Joey cursed. "You made Amamiya have sex with you for grades, didn't you?"_

 _"That's a pretty heavy accusation to make, you little punk." Kirisaki spoke as he got back up. "I'm going to make you regret what you just did."_

 _"I don't care if you have me expelled or even thrown in jail!" Joey told him. "Bastards like you are the worst kind of scum there is! I'm gonna make you pay!"_

 _"I… I just don't understand." A stunned Chitose spoke. "Why is Wheeler fighting to avenge me like this?"_

 _"Hey, you don't even have any proof of what you're accusing me of." Kirisaki pointed out as a smug expression came to his face. "And even if it is true, it's not like anyone was actually hurt. Amamiya and I would've been merely exchanging favors. You know the poor girl was under a lot of pressure at home to get good grades. Assuming that she did come to me, all I did was give her a solution to her problem."_

 _Joey went over and pushed Kirisaki against the wall. "You bastard! I'm not gonna let you live!"_

 _"Joey, stop!" a familiar voice called. Joey looked back and saw Yugi standing in the door. "Don't do it! There has to be a better way than this!"_

 _Before Joey could respond, Kirisaki managed to punch Joey in the stomach. Joey staggered backward, letting go of Kirisaki in the process. The corrupt teacher then reached into his back pocket and pulled out a set of brass knuckles, which he used to punch Joey in the face. The blonde was knocked to the floor and was out like a light._

 _"Joey!" a worried Yugi called._

 _"You little punk!" Kirisaki spoke as he kicked Joey in the stomach. "Where do you get the balls to come in here and assault me? We teachers are gods as far as you lowly students are concerned!" He kicked Joey in the stomach again. "It's a shame what happened to Amamiya, but as worked up as that girl was, it was probably only a matter of time before she decided to end it all. Hell, I was probably the kindest person that girl ever met, letting her get a passing grade for just one little roll in the hay. It's not like I haven't done that for some of the other girls who've come through this school._

 _"But as for you Wheeler, I'm not only going to have you expelled. I'm going to make it so you spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair!"_

 _Suddenly the eye on Yugi's pendant began to glow and a beam of golden light shot up around him. In seconds, Yugi seemed to go through a slight transformation. His height had increased slightly and his features seemed to have a more regal appearance._

 _"Stop!" the transformed Yugi ordered in a deep commanding voice, getting Kirisaki's attention._

 _"What the hell?" Kirisaki spoke. "Did your balls suddenly decide to finally drop or something, kid?"_

 _"Now that looks more like the Yugi Muto I've seen in pictures." Alit observed._

 _"That's Pharaoh Atem, the spirit from the Millennium Puzzle that used Yugi Muto as a vessel." Chitose informed him._

 _"You have a lot to answer for, Mr. Kirisaki!" Atem told him. "Not only have you hurt my friend, you've also forced countless other girls like Chitose to give themselves to you. For that, I will never forgive you!"_

 _"Oh please! As if a snot-nosed brat like you could do anything about it." Kirisaki scoffed. "Though just the same, I should probably do to you what I'm about to do to your friend just to cover my bases. Nothing personal."_

 _Just as Kirisaki began to advance on Atem, the pharaoh pulled a tape recorder out of his jacket pocket, causing him to freeze. "I wouldn't be so hasty to act, Mr. Kirisaki. What if I told you this tape recorder has been recording everything we've been saying since Joey came in here?"_

 _"You little… Okay, hand over the tape!" Kirisaki ordered._

 _"I may hand over the tape," Atem told him as he pulled the recorder away, "provided you beat me in a game."_

 _"A game?" Kirisaki repeated with a raised eyebrow._

 _"If you beat me, you can have the tape and even my life if you wish." Atem told him. "But if I win, you have to play a penalty game."_

 _After a moment, Kirisaki chuckled. "Fine, why not? I am kind of a gambler at heart. But I'd like to add something to the pot. If I win, I not only get the tape and your life, I get Wheeler's as well."_

 _"Very well." Atem agreed. "Fortunately, everything we need for this game is here in this room."_

 _With that, Atem went over to one of the desks and opened one of its lower drawers to pull out a simple cardboard box. Inside the box were several gold plastic tokens resembling poker chips._

 _"I believe these tokens were originally used for a school event last year." Atem spoke. "We'll be using these tokens for our game. As it happens, there are exactly 1,080 tokens in this box. Each of us will take half."_

 _"What kind of game are we supposed to play using those tokens?" Kirisaki asked._

 _"The tokens are only what we're going to be wagering in this game." Atem explained as he dumped the box of chips onto an empty desk and split it into two equal piles. "The game itself will be played using that dartboard on the wall over there. Each of us will take four turns throwing our three darts at the board. At the end of each turn, we must give up a number of tokens equal to the total score our darts landed on. Whoever has the fewest tokens remaining at the end of the game or runs out of tokens first loses."_

 _"I get it. So the point of the game is to get as low a score as possible." Kirisaki realized. "This should be interesting."_

 _"We'll ro-sham-bo to see who goes first." Atem told him._

 _Alit and Chitose watched as Atem and Kirisaki did a quick game of rock-paper-scissors. Atem ended up choosing paper while Kirisaki chose rock, meaning Atem got the first turn._

 _"I don't get what this is really supposed to accomplish." Alit spoke. "How is winning a game of darts going to do anything about this bastard?"_

 _"Game start!" Atem announced._

 _Suddenly the room seemed to take a somewhat darker quality to it. Atem threw his three darts at the board and wound up hitting the sections for the numbers two, twelve and forty-five. The pharaoh took fifty-nine of the tokens from his pile and threw them into an empty metal wastebasket._

 _"Not bad, kid." Kirisaki praised as Atem removed his darts from the board. "But as you're about to see, you're way out of your league here."_

 _With that, Kirisaki threw his darts at the board. The darts landed on the sections for the numbers one, four and five. The corrupt teacher chuckled as he tossed a mere ten chips into the wastebasket._

 _"See that, punk? This game is a piece of cake for me!" Kirisaki declared. "I've been playing darts since I was twelve! I can hit any space on that board I want."_

 _"You do have the superior level of skill." Atem admitted as Kirisaki removed his darts from the board. "But this is a shadow game. Winning it won't be as easy as you think."_

 _"A 'shadow game', huh?" Kirisaki responded. "I don't know what the hell that's supposed to mean, but it sounds like a load of crap to me. Now make your move."_

 _Atem stepped up and threw his darts at the board. Suddenly the wall the board was hanging on seemed to pull away a bit as the pharaoh's darts flew towards it. The darts hit the sections for the numbers forty, seven and nine. Atem tossed fifty-six chips into the wastebasket, leaving him with four hundred and twenty-five chips in his pile. At the same time, the wall appeared to move back to its original position._

 _"What the hell?" Kirisaki asked as he rubbed his eyes. "That wall looked like it moved."_

 _"It's your move." Atem told Kirisaki after retrieving his darts._

 _"Man. I'm gonna have to ask for some time off after this. I've probably been working too hard." Kirisaki assumed, as he got ready to throw._

 _As soon as Kirisaki's darts began to fly through the air, the wall that the dartboard was on suddenly moved back again. It ended up moving much further away than it had moved during Atems last turn. Kirisaki's darts landed on the sections for the numbers sixty, fifty and forty-five. The wall quickly moved back to its original position._

 _"What the heck was that?" a stunned Alit asked._

 _"What the… what the hell's going on?" Kirisaki demanded to know._

 _"I forgot to mention that in this shadow game, the board will move a certain distance away from us at the start of each turn, depending on our score from the previous turn." Atem explained. "You know the rules, Mr. Kirisaki. Now you must give up a hundred and fifty-five chips."_

 _"You little punk!" Kirisaki cursed as he threw more chips into the wastebasket. "I don't know how you did that, but I'm going to clobber you once I beat this little game of yours!"_

 _"How the heck is Atem doing all this anyway?" Alit asked._

 _"It's his Millennium Item." Chitose explained. "From what I understand of those items from Alnia, it's allowing him to create a sort of illusion as part of the game."_

 _Once Kirisaki removed his darts from the board, Atem stepped up and took his turn. The wall moved back again as Atem threw his darts. This time, the darts landed on the sections for the numbers twenty, sixty and fifteen. Atem tossed away ninety-five more chips as the wall moved back._

 _"It's time for me to teach you a lesson!" Kirisaki declared after Atem removed his darts from the board._

 _The corrupt teach threw his three darts again. The wall moved backward only slightly as the darts flew towards the board. This time all three projectiles landed on the section for the number one._

 _"Ya see that punk? Huh?" Kirisaki laughed as he threw away a mere three chips. "This game's as good as mine!"_

 _"Are you sure that was a wise move?" Atem asked. "Hitting a low score like that will cause the board to move extremely far away on your next turn."_

 _"Big deal. I'm not worried." Kirisaki smugly declared. "Sure that little tick of yours with the board threw me a bit, but I can hit the bull's-eye from twenty feet away. No matter how far away that board moves, this game is as good as mine. Now make your last turn so I can take that tape and clobber you!"_

 _Atem shrugged and got ready to throw. The wall moved back as his first two darts began to soar through the air. In seconds the darts hit the board and landed on the sections for the numbers three, fifteen and seventeen._

 _"Not bad a bad score for a final turn." Kirisaki admitted as Atem tossed thirty-five chips into the metal wastebasket. "Still, you've only got two hundred and twenty-three chips left. Meanwhile I've three hundred and seventy-three chips in my pile. I'll probably only have to give up ten or fifteen more chips after this next turn."_

 _"The odds are in your favor." Atem agreed as he took his darts off the board. "But the game's not over yet."_

 _"Just watch." Kirisaki told him as he prepared to throw._

 _As Kirisaki was about to throw the first dart, the wall that the board was hanging on suddenly pulled away at an alarming speed. When it was finally done, the dartboard looked like only a mere dot._

 _"What… what the hell?" a stunned Kirisaki exclaimed._

 _"You got the lowest score possible during the last turn, which means the board moved away to its maximum distance." Atem told him. "Don't worry. In this game the darts will reach the board no matter how far away it is, but from your perspective it's moved about a hundred feet away from where you're standing. Consider this punishment for your arrogance, Mr. Kirisaki!"_

 _"Shut up!" an enraged Kirisaki told him. "I'll show you!"_

 _With that, Kirisaki threw his darts at the board in a blind rage. As soon as the darts hit the board, the wall zoomed back to its original position. All the color drained from Kirisaki's face when he saw where the darts had landed. All three of them had struck the thin number sixty section of the board._

 _"I… I don't believe it." Kirisaki spoke. "That's the best damn shot I ever made."_

 _"Indeed, a score of a hundred and eighty. Also known as 'top-eighty' in darts." Atem noted. "The irony though is that your score just cost you a hundred and eighty chips, leaving you with only a hundred and ninety-three chips left. That means you lose!"_

 _"Why you…!" Kirisaki began._

 _Suddenly a light began to shine from the eye of the Millennium Puzzle. Soon after, a glowing gold eye-like symbol appeared on Atem's forehead._

 _"What… what the hell are you?" Kirisaki asked._

 _"What I am doesn't matter. It's now time for your punishment, Mr. Kirisaki." Atem told him with an echoing voice as he stretched his hand out at him. "Penalty Game! Phantom Afterimage!"_

 _Kirisaki was hit with a blinding white light. The light cleared and the room seemed to return to its original level of brightness. Kirisaki blinked and suddenly screamed. Alit and Chitose could just barely see what it was. Standing next to Atem was a ghostly image of Chitose standing there with her throat cut, giving Kirisaki and accusing stare. For Alit and Chitose, the image quickly disappeared. But it seemed that Kirisaki was still seeing it and it caused him to run out of the room screaming his head off._

 _Atem walked over to the door and watched as Kirisaki ran down the hall. "This is your penalty game, Mr. Kirisaki. From now on, wherever you go, you will see the ghost of Chitose Amamiya staring at you, always reminding you of how you drove her to end her own life. It may only be an illusion, though I imagine it will be one that will eventually drive you insane. But if it does, then so be it."_

 _"Whoa! So that's what those Millennium Items could do, huh?" Alit observed. "Couldn't happen to a nicer guy, if you ask me."_

 _Suddenly Joey began to stir and started to sit up. The Millennium Puzzle flashed and Atem changed back into Yugi. The future duelist king blinked a few times in confusion after his transformation._

 _"Huh? Did I black out again?" Yugi wondered. He heard Joey groan and remembered that Kirisaki had knocked him out before. "Joey! Are you okay?"_

 _"I think so." Joey replied as he managed to sit up. "What happened to that bastard, Kirisaki?"_

 _"Dunno. He must've knocked me out too and left." Yugi replied._

 _"Did he take that tape of him talking?" Joey asked._

 _"Uh… nope, doesn't look like it." Yugi answered after checking his pocket to see if he still had the tape recorder. "It was a good idea that Tea had to record him saying something incriminating."_

 _"Yeah. Let's hope what we got is enough." Joey replied._

 _"Did you really have to threaten him that much though, Joey?" Yugi asked._

 _"Yeah, sorry 'bout that." Joey told him as he stood back up. "I just couldn't hold myself back with that scumbag."_

 _"Let's get you checked out and go get that tape to a teacher." Yugi decided. "I'm sure once they hear it, Mr. Kirisaki's days here as a teacher will be over."_

 _The surroundings changed to mist again as Yugi and Joey headed for the door. Alit and Chitose found they were standing out in the hall of the school when the mist reformed. A female student with purple hair tied into a ponytail by a yellow ribbon was taking a drink at a water fountain. Just as the girl was about to leave, Kirisaki popped up from around the corner, causing her to freeze._

 _Kirisaki looked at the girl with a crazed look. "What the hell do you want from me, Amamiya?"_

 _"Mr. Kirisaki?" the girl responded._

 _"You think it's my fault that you wound up slitting your own throat?" Kirisaki asked the girl as he advanced on her. "Huh? Do you think I'm to blame for that?"_

 _"W-what're you talking about?" the girl asked as she became afraid._

 _"Answer me, dammit!" Kirisaki ordered as he grabbed the girl and shook her. "What do you want from me?"_

 _"He must think that girl's you." Alit deduced. "That is one powerful spell Yugi put on him."_

 _As Kirisaki continued to shake the girl, two male teachers came from around the corner behind him and saw what he was doing. The two quickly ran up and pulled him off the girl._

 _"What the hell's the matter with you, Kirisaki?" one of the teachers asked._

 _"Nosaka! If you're okay, go to the office and have them call the police!" the other teacher told the girl. "Something's obviously come over Kirisaki!"_

 _The girl nodded after getting over the shock and dashed off down the hall. Kirisaki continued to call out Chitose's last name as Nosaka ran off. Everything soon changed to mist again and Chitose and Alit found they were on the roof of the school. Joey was there looked at the late afternoon sun through the wire fence. As he gazed out at the sky, Yugi and Tea walked up behind him._

 _"Hey Joey. Tea said she'd take me out for some burgers since she has the afternoon off." Yugi informed him. "You're welcome to come with us, if you want."_

 _"…Sure, why not?" Joey agreed after a moment._

 _"You know I heard they took Mr. Kirisaki away for psychiatric evaluation." Tea told the others. "Seems he attacked poor Ribbon, thinking she was Chitose."_

 _"Is Ribbon okay?" Yugi asked._

 _"She's fine." Tea answered. "But I wonder what happened to make Mr. Kirisaki go nuts like that?"_

 _"Who knows?" Yugi shrugged._

 _"Who the hell cares?" Joey responded. "I say it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy."_

 _"…You feeling okay Joey?" Yugi asked._

 _"I guess so." Joey answered. "I'm glad Kirisaki's out of the picture, but it's still too late for Chitose. If only I had done something about this while she was alive."_

 _"Well, hopefully she's at least resting easier now." Tea replied. "Let's get out of here."_

 _Alit watched as Yugi and the others headed for the door off the roof. Suddenly Chitose fell to her knees and began to cry._

 _"What's wrong?" Alit asked her._

 _"I just don't understand why Wheeler and his friends would fight to avenge me like that." Chitose told him. "I thought I was nothing to him. So why…?"_

 _Alit sighed and kneeled down next to her. "I guess before, Joey just didn't know how to act around other people too well. He did say before that he was a different guy before when he picked on you that time."_

 _"I always assumed that nobody ever really cared about me at all." Chitose continued. "To my parents I was just someone to carry on in their footsteps, and to others I was either nobody or just someone they could torment for their pleasure. The way Wheeler and the others fought for me against that bastard, Kirisaki… just defies belief."_

 _"Yeah, well… from what I saw earlier, it kind of sounded like you never truly let anyone else in." Alit pointed out. "I mean did you ever actually have a single friend."_

 _Chitose's eyes widened with realization. "No… I suppose not. I guess I saw friends as merely a distraction from my studies. From the moment I could walk, my parents expected me to continue their legacy. Everything after that was to accomplish that goal. I suppose as a result I shut out everyone else. Maybe… maybe if I did have at least one friend… things back then might've gone differently for me."_

 _"Well, you have me as a friend." Alit told her. "Actually, I'd kinda like to be more than that to you, but I guess I'll settle for the friend zone if you're not interested."_

 _A smile came to Chitose's face. "Just hearing that… seems to make me happy."_

 _Alit pulled Chitose close to him. Soon after, there was a blinding white light that seemed to wash everything out._

* * *

The light finally cleared and Alit and Chitose were back on the stadium stage. The duel between them had only just ended and their monsters had vanished.

"Uh… and the winner of the duel is, Alit!" the referee finally declared. The audience began to cheer as they got over their own daze.

"What just happened up there?" Yuma asked.

"It seems that Alit and Anitak's Numbers resonated with each other in that last attack." Astral answered.

Suddenly Kaito's D-Gazer tattoo began to flash. From the Caller ID, Kaito saw that it was his robot sidekick, Orbital 7.

Kaito answered the call. "What is it, Orbital?"

"M-Master Kaito! I was monitoring Alit and Anitak's duel as you requested and detected a second energy reaction when their Numbers clashed." Orbital 7 reported. "It came from the artifact called the Tablet of Memories."

"Are you saying that the tablet somehow resonated with the Numbers?" Kaito asked.

"Affirmative." Orbital 7 confirmed.

"Call Dr. Faker and tell him to come down there and examine the tablet." Kaito ordered. "I want to know exactly why it would react to the Numbers like that."

"Y-yes sir!" Orbital 7 replied.

"Hey Astral, do you think that the tablet resonated with the Numbers just now?" Shark asked.

"It would seem so." Astral assumed. "Though I have no explanation as to why."

Up on the stage, Chitose began to stagger as if she was about fall. Alit dashed over and caught the dark-haired girl before she collapsed.

"Chitose, are you okay?" a concerned Alit asked.

"It seems… that last attack finished me." Chitose weakly answered. "My time in this world has ended."

"Hey. Don't talk like that." Alit told her as he began to tear up. "I didn't hit you that hard."

"Alit… before I vanish… know that I do see you as more than a friend." Chitose told him with a small smile. "I only wish… that I could start my life as a student over… with you."

"You still can." Alit told her. "You can still have a chance at a happy life."

"Goodbye, Alit." Chitose told him. "I'm… happy to have met you."

With that, Chitose closed her eyes and turned into a ball of yellow light. Alit watched as the ball flew off and entered Alnia down in the other dugout. Alnia looked up at Alit at the stage with a murderous glare.

"Ani." Samantha spoke with a tear in her eyes.

"Damn Tsukumo and his friends." Alnia cursed. "This isn't over yet though. Anitak may have fallen, but in the end the Numeron Code will still be mine!"

"This concludes the preliminary round of the tournament!" the referee declared. "The first duel of the quarterfinal round tomorrow will be between Ryoga Kamishiro and Cleo Atlas! Until then, we wish you all a pleasant evening!"

As the stadium began to clear, Alit remained up on the stage as a single tear rolled down his cheek. "Chitose."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I really hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. It was fun doing a battle like the ones from the first seven volumes of the original Yu-Gi-Oh! manga, the events of which were adapted into the original anime series now known as Season 0. It was kind of a challenge to though because I needed to figure out what kind of shadow game Atem and Kirisaki were going to play. I decided on darts when I got the image of Kirisaki playing a small game in the office. Of course I needed to do a bit of research on the game first since I didn't know how it was played. I hope I did okay with it.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	19. After the Prelims

**Author's Note:** I'd like to thank my guest reviewer, SuperSaiyenGod53 for his review of the last chapter. I am perfectly aware that the "Duelist" anime that many of us know here in the U.S. is of a different continuity than Season 0. That little shadow duel between Atem and Yami Bakura is evidence of that, since that was basically a substitute of Season 0's Monster World arc. In my defense though, this story basically part of an AU since it uses the continuity of my 5D's Alternative trilogy. Besides, who's to say that a Season 0 style shadow game didn't happen before the events of the Duelist anime? After all, we never actually saw the part of the story where Yugi first together the Millennium Puzzle. Except maybe for that little prologue at the beginning of that Pyramid of Light movie, but that film was largely non-cannon.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.

* * *

Chapter 19: After the Prelims

Alit had remained up on the stage for almost five minutes after the audience had left the stadium. Yuma and the others had waited in the dugout for him to come down. It seemed clear to them all that the boxer duelist needed a bit of time to compose himself after the way his duel with Chitose had ended. At long last, Alit came down from the stage and rejoined the others. He had a composed and rather stoic expression on his face.

"You okay, buddy?" Yuma asked Alit.

"I will be." Alit answered.

"What happened to Anitak?" Shark asked.

"It looked like she got absorbed into Alnia after being beaten." Alit replied. "Just like what happened with most of us former Barians towards the end of the Number War."

"At least this means we only have two of the Death Queens to worry about now." Kaito noted.

"It also appears that we may have found the key to defeating them." Astral added. "The reaction that occurred when Alit's Shining Number attacked Anitak's Number seemed very similar to the reaction that occurred when one of the Legendary Numbers would strike the 10X Numbers."

"In other words, the Shining Numbers are the key to breaking the curse of those Devil Numbers that the Death Queens use." Shark realized.

"Precisely." Astral confirmed.

"Then that's kind of a problem. Alit and Mizael are the only ones who have been able to use those Numbers." Michael pointed out. "And Mizael's already been knocked out of the tournament."

"It's even worse when you consider that besides Mitaka and Alnia, the only ones with Numbers in this tournament are Yuma, Ryoga and Alit." Hikari added.

"Cousin, you better not be suggesting that I throw my duel with Ryoga so he can get a shot at Alnia." Cleo told her.

"I didn't say anything like that!" Hikari responded.

"I'm not crazy about that idea either." Shark admitted.

"You're all forgetting that Alnia has to get through me first." Michael pointed out. "I may not have a Shining Number, but I think I have a way to knock her out of this tournament."

"Hey Astral, maybe you and I can figure out how to summon one of those Shining Numbers." Yuma suggested.

"It might be possible." Astral agreed. "Though I am not sure how to go about it."

"Astral, there's something I have to ask you." Alit spoke. "Do you think you could use the Numeron Code to bring back Chitose?"

"Say what?" Shark exclaimed.

"I want her to be brought back as a human." Alit continued. "Can you do it Astral?"

"…Not at this time, I'm afraid." Astral answered. "The Numeron Code is a tremendous power. If I attempt to use it to bring back Chitose under the present circumstances, it may risk altering things in undesirable ways. In order for me to revive Chitose without any unintended consequences, we must defeat Alnia first."

"Then I guess that's what I'll have to do." Alit decided.

"We should probably all go home and call it a day." Shark suggested. "Most of us have a pretty big day tomorrow."

Shane hung back in the dugout as everyone else left and sighed. "This is the weirdest damn tournament I've ever been in."

* * *

It was late in the evening as Cleo sat in the small dining room of her apartment wearing only a black t-shirt and a pair of panties. She had several Duel Monsters cards spread out before her on the table. Cleo had wanted to make a few final modifications to her deck before going to bed. As the dark-haired duelist replaced one of the cards in her deck with a new one, Rio walked up behind her chair wearing an oversized grey t-shirt.

"Aren't you done modifying your deck yet?" Rio asked as she put her arms around Cleo's shoulders.

"Just about. I want to make sure it's perfect for when I face your brother tomorrow." Cleo answered.

"You really that worried about him beating you?" Rio asked.

"Not really, but I can't deny he's improved as a duelist." Cleo admitted. "And those Barian cards of his have certainly given him an edge."

"I'm sure you'll be able to defeat him." Rio told her.

"I had better." Cleo replied as she finished putting her deck back together. "After all, this duel will be a chance for me to settle things with Ryoga once and for all."

"I think I know what you mean. He's been a little crankier than usual ever since that little bombshell we dropped on him during the trip to visit your parents." Rio admitted.

"Well, whatever happens in tomorrow's duel, Ryoga will just have to deal with the way things are going to be soon." Cleo replied. "Now, shall we go to bed?"

"…Not just yet." Rio replied with a mischievous smirk.

With that, Rio pulled back Cleo's chair a bit and went around to the front. The blunette then got down on her knees and pulled the crotch of Cleo's panties aside. Rio moved her head in and began to probe Cleo's womanhood with her tongue. Cleo moaned and tilted her head back, placing her hand on the back of Rio's head as she did so. She let herself become completely lost in pleasure as Rio's tongue continued to explore her. Eventually Cleo felt herself coming close to the edge and began to buck her hips to speed herself to her climax. Then after what seemed like an eternity, the dam inside Cleo burst and she let out a silent scream.

Rio got back to her feet. "Care to take this back to the bedroom?"

Cleo nodded and took Rio's hand. The two of them then headed back to Cleo's bedroom.

* * *

Shark was sitting on the couch at Hikari's house, looking out at the night sky through the window. The water duelist had to admit a sort of nervousness at being in Hikari's place. It had hardly been the first time Shark had been there, of course. Yet ever since he had visited Hikari's parents in Neo Domino and was given a little tour of the city's Momentum reactor by Hikari's father, Shark had been a bit afraid that future attempts to become intimate with Hikari would result in her father hunting him down and killing him. After all, Dr. Fudo had shown Shark what he had described as the perfect device to dispose of a dead body; a stream of pure energy that sent power from the reactor to Neo Domino's island of Satellite. The good doctor had made it very clear that any form of solid matter thrown into the stream would be instantly vaporized.

At last Hikari came into the room wearing only an oversized blue t-shirt and a pair of panties. The mere sight caused Shark's pants to suddenly become uncomfortably tight.

"Sorry that call to my mom took so long." Hikari told him as she came over to the couch. "I mentioned the name of that creature or whatever it is the Death Queens have been trying to revive and she told me she probably knows something about it."

"Oh? What was that?" Shark asked as Hikari sat next to him on the couch.

"Well it seems that years ago back when Satellite was still a hellhole, my Uncle Leo and Aunt Luna had been possessed by some kind of evil spirit that inhabited a Spell card they had called Ring of Zorc." Hikari explained. "That was actually the first time my mom and dad met them."

"And your mom thinks that it's the same demon that the Death Queens are trying to revive?" Shark asked.

"She thinks so. Especially since the spirit they encountered said he was connected to those Millennium Items that Stacy was talking about." Hikari answered. "Mom said she and dad would look into it. In the meantime…" Hikari gave Shark a rather seductive smirk and placed a hand on Shark's leg. "I think you and I should just relax and have a little fun."

"Uh… y'know, I should probably head home and get to bed." Shark decided. "I mean I do have a pretty big day tomorrow."

"Dammit Ryoga!" Hikari cursed with a frustrated sigh as she got up from the couch. "You've been doing this kind of thing ever since we got back from visiting my parents! Do you not find me attractive anymore or something?"

"What? No! That's not it!" Shark quickly assured her. "It's just… well, you remember that tour your dad gave me and Durbe of his power plant?"

"Oh god. He showed you the power streamer, didn't he?" Hikari realized.

"Uh… yeah." Shark confirmed. "Made it kind of clear how he could dispose of a dead body in there too."

"Dammit! He does this to every guy I date!" Hikari complained. "Wait, he showed Durbe too?"

"Yeah. Why?" Shark asked.

"I better give Hana a heads-up later." Hikari spoke.

"What?" Shark responded.

"Never mind." Hikari told him. "Look Ryoga, just don't worry about my dad. He was just being overprotective like he always is. In fact I'm guessing he's a little bit worse now after how my last relationship ended. In any case, my dad's not going to know what we get up to here."

"Well… I guess you're right." Shark admitted. "It's just… he's Yusie Fudo! He's probably one of the greatest duelists of all time. I just… really want him to like me. I don't want him to think of me as just some punk."

"…I'm pretty sure he likes you." Hikari told him. "But he's not the one you're dating. So just forget about him and focus on me. Okay?"

"Yeah, okay." Shark replied.

A smile returned to Hikari's face and she pulled off her shirt, carelessly tossing it away to another corner of the room. Shark's pants became even tighter when he saw that Hikari wasn't wearing a bra. Hikari got down on her knees and quickly undid Shark's belt. She then unzipped the fly of his pants with her teeth, which managed to turn on Shark even more. The stardust heiress reached in and freed Shark's hardened rod from its confinement.

Hikari began to rub Shark's manhood between her large breasts, causing him to moan and grip the back of the couch. Every now and then she'd blow on the tip, sending waves of pleasure up the water duelist's spine. Just when it seemed like Shark might burst, Hikari stopped what she was doing and got back to her feet. She pulled off her panties and carelessly tossed them away. After turning around, Hikari got onto Shark's lap and moaned as his rod entered her womanhood.

The blunette began to rock her hips, causing her breasts to bounce up and down. Shark took hold of Hikari's breasts with his hands and began to squeeze them gently, every now and then toying with the erect nipples with his thumbs. At the same time, the water duelist began to suck on Hikari's neck. Eventually Shark felt himself coming close to the edge, prompting him to bite down on Hikari's neck. Hikari let out a delighted yelp and picked up the pace of her hips. They teetered on the edge for what seemed like an eternity until finally climaxing in the same sweet moment. Hikari felt a massive blast of warmth shoot into her.

"…Damn!" Shark declared as both he and Hikari caught their breath. "That was incredible."

"How 'bout we go shower off?" Hikari suggested.

"Fine. But I doubt we'll get very clean." Shark replied with a smirk.

* * *

Yuma sat in his room watching a video on his D-Pad. Astral floated behind him, watching the video over Yuma's shoulder. The video in question showed an old Turbo Duel featuring Hikari's father. Yuma and Astral watched with awe as Yusei skillfully defeated his opponent with one final attack.

"Wow! Hikari's dad really was a powerful duelist." Yuma declared.

"Indeed. And she has inherited much of his skill." Astral added.

"I don't know how we can beat her. Especially with that dragon of hers." Yuma continued.

"…Actually, Yuma. I may have an idea about that." Astral spoke. "One of my Numbers has an effect that can rid the field of Stardust Dragon and potentially win the duel for us in almost an instant."

"Seriously?" Yuma replied. "That's awesome!"

"Yes, but defeating Stardust Dragon is only a small part of the battle." Astral replied.

"Hey, it's more than we had before." Yuma pointed out. "I think we can use that Number of yours in an awesome strategy."

"Then I suppose we should get to work figuring it out." Astral decided.

* * *

Samantha stood at the window of a small hotel room she and Alnia had gotten for the night looking out at the city. The two Death Queens had decided to stay there for the night rather than go back to their interdimensional hideout. It had been a very hard afternoon for Samantha. First her duel with Thomas had ended up bringing the unpleasant memories of her past life rushing back to the surface, and then they had lost Anitak. The redhead had considered the fallen Death Queen the closest thing she had to a friend.

Alnia had been quite shaken by the events of the afternoon as well. The Shining Number that Alit had used to defeat Anitak had greatly unsettled her. As Samantha continued to look out at the city, the white-haired girl emerged from the bathroom wearing a white robe and drying her hair off with a towel. One of the reasons the duo had decided to get a hotel room was because Alnia had wanted to shower like a human.

Alnia walked up behind Samantha and wrapped her arms around her. "You okay, Mitaka?"

"I… I can't believe Ani's gone." Samantha replied. "How could she have been beaten by one of those idiot pawns of Don Thousand?"

"It was that damn Shining Number." Alnia replied. "I don't know how the hell that moron managed to call upon that power, but we'll bury him for it. Just like we'll bury Tsukumo and all those wretched friends of his."

With that, Alnia began to kiss Samantha's neck. Samantha let out a surprised cry and tried to pull away.

"C'mon Mitaka. I know you prefer guys, but it's not like this would be the first time we've gotten it on." Alnia told her. "Besides, after a day like this, I bet we could both use a little tumble."

It was true that Samantha had indeed had sex with Alnia a few times in the past, as had Anitak. Mostly it had been a way to relieve boredom in their hideout, though in Anitak's case it had mainly been for experimental purposes. Samantha had to admit that she really didn't object to Alnia's advances that much, especially at that moment. It had been a stressful day, and the redhead was really in the mood to go out and seduce some random young guy on the street. She decided to just go with it and let Alnia have her way with her.

Samantha relaxed and let Alnia continue to kiss her neck. The white-haired girl began to suck on the redhead's neck, causing Samantha to let out a soft moan. Alnia then began to massage the redhead's left breast through her shirt. Samantha was becoming more turned on by the second. Eventually Alnia snuck her right hand into Samantha's short skirt and beneath her panties. The redhead let out a deep moan as Alnia began to massage her moist womanhood, sending the few inhibitions she had remaining flying out the window.

"Do you want me to give it to you?" Alnia whispered into Samantha's ear.

"Yes." Samantha responded.

"Yes what?" Alnia whispered back.

"Yes, mistress." Samantha begged.

Grinning, Alnia pushed two fingers into Samantha's wet entrance. Samantha let out a deep moan and held onto the windowsill for support as Alnia began to pump her fingers into her. As Alnia gradually picked up the pace, Samantha begged for her to go harder. The white-haired girl inserted a third finger inside of the redhead and began to plunge harder and deeper. Alnia could feel Samantha's inner walls tightening around her. Eventually Samantha came to a hard climax, letting out a loud moan as she did so.

As the redhead caught her breath, Alnia stepped back and removed her robe, letting it fall carelessly to the floor. After she recovered from her orgasm, Samantha turned her head to see a nude Alnia standing before her with her hands on her hips.

"Strip down and get on your knees." Alnia ordered. "I'm sure you know what to do from there."

"Yes, mistress." Samantha replied with a playful smirk

Samantha quickly pulled off her shirt, skirt and panties, tossing them away to random corners of the room. The redhead then got down on her knees as ordered and moved in to probe Alnia's opening with her tongue. Alia let out a deep moan and held Samantha's in place. The white-haired girl gently rocked her hips as Samantha's tongue did its work inside her. She gradually picked up the pace as she felt herself coming close to the edge, tightening her grip on Samantha's head as she did so. All the stress and terror Alnia had felt from seeing Alit's Shining Number had been completely blotted out by pleasure.

After what seemed like an eternity, Alnia finally climaxed. She released Samantha and staggered back slightly, trying to catch her breath as she came down from her high. Samantha remained on her knees on the floor, awaiting her mistress's next command.

"Go lay down on the bed." Alnia ordered.

Samantha nodded and quickly got onto the bed. Alnia came over and got on top of her. The two of them became locked in a deep open-mouthed kiss for several minutes before finally breaking for air. Taking hold of Samantha's leg, Alnia positioned her hips so that her opening was touching the redhead's. She then began to buck her hips into Samantha. In seconds the room became filled with the sounds of moans and creaking bedsprings. Alnia's eyes became transfixed on the bouncing of Samantha's naked breasts. Without realizing it, she had caused her red angelic wings to appear on her back.

"Please, mistress! Give it to me!" Samantha begged.

"You asked for it." Alnia replied.

Alnia's body began to crackle with crimson electricity. The energy entered Samantha's body, causing her to scream with pleasure and arch her back, digging her fingers into her bed. Alnia changed into her nude Barian form, and the energy forced the redhead to do the same. The energy seemed to increase though as the red-winged Death Queen continued to buck her hips into Mitaka. Alnia then changed into a red energy form and merged into Mitaka's body.

Mitaka's eyes went totally wide and let out another loud scream. She had forgotten the rapture of pleasure that occurred when Alnia went inside her like this. Then in an instant Mitaka climaxed and the entire room became filled with a blinding light. When the light cleared, Alnia was sitting on the bed in her human form. Samantha was curled up on the bed with her head resting on Alnia's lap.

"So… how was I?" Alnia asked as she stroked Samantha's hair.

"You were amazing, mistress." Samantha responded. "Alnia… I'm going to kill that bastard Alit for taking Ani from us."

"I'm sure you will." Alnia replied. "From this point on, we're going to crush every single opponent we face in this tournament. Starting now, Tsukumo is going to pay for Anitak's loss with the blood of his precious friends."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** The final scene in this chapter ended up giving me a little bit of trouble towards the end. There were a couple of details about it that I wasn't entirely sure of as I was writing it, and there was one small detail about that last scene that I became afraid would be totally misunderstood. So I went back and changed that detail just a little bit, though I imagine that it's probably not all that noticeable.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	20. Red Menace

**Author's Note:** I'd like to apologize for the long delay in getting this chapter up. I got really sidetracked by my little side project, _The Gold Swordsman_. It ended up getting a pretty big following, though the response to it was a bit mixed. Anyway, now that I've gotten that little story done, I'm going to be focusing more on getting this story done. I may also do a little work on this Digimon story I've since started, but I'll probably work on that story once a month at most since the response to it has been practically nonexistent.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.

* * *

Chapter 20: Red Menace

The day of the Millennium Tournament's quarterfinal round had arrived, and once again people had come to the stadium in droves to watch the duels that were about to unfold. With Kaito having been eliminated from the tournament, he had used his family's connections to get a private skybox for Kotori and everyone else in Yuma's circle of friends to watch the event. Everyone except for Thomas had shown up at the skybox. Kotori couldn't help but admire how spacious the place was. The skybox was not only luxurious, but there was room for everyone in the group to be able to sit and watch.

"This sure is a lot better than watching from the stands." Kotori remarked.

"Yeah Kaito. Why didn't you get us a box like this from the beginning?" Vector asked as he helped himself to a drink in the mini-fridge. "Don't you like us enough?"

"We should be able to get a much better view of the action from up here." Kaito told the others, ignoring Vector's comment. "Not only that, we'll be able to hear everything that happens in the duel too. The windows are designed to pick up the signals from the duelists' D-Gazers."

"Guess I'll be able to watch my brother and Cleo's duel in style." Rio noted.

"I for one hope that Nasch destroys Atlas." Mizael remarked.

Down on the stadium floor, the referee took the stage. "Ladies and gentlemen! The quarterfinals of the Millennium Tournament are about to begin! Our first duel will be between Ryoga Kamishiro and Cleo Atlas!"

With that, the referee quickly stepped off the stage as the audience began to cheer. Shark and Cleo emerged from the dugout together and took the stage. The whole time, Shark had been giving Cleo a rather threatening glare.

"I hope you'll give me an entertaining challenge, Ryoga." Cleo told him. "It would be a real disappointment if I defeated you as easily as I did years ago."

"This won't be anything like the time we first dueled." Shark assured her. "This time around, I'm gonna wipe that arrogant smirk off your face."

"Please. As if you have a chance against me." Cleo spoke as she pointed her finger into the air. "There's only one empress of duelists, and that's me! Cleo Atlas!"

"Could your ego be any bigger?" Shark asked. "It's times like this when you almost make even Mizael seem more modest. You just make me want to go over there and slap you."

"You should be much nicer to me, Ryoga." Cleo told him. "After all, we are going to be family soon enough."

"What's Cleo mean by that?" Kotori asked up in the skybox.

"Cleo and I are engaged." Rio revealed, totally surprising everyone except for Durbe. "She proposed to me when we were in Neo Domino."

"So… you're getting married?" Kotori asked.

"As soon as I finish school." Rio happily confirmed. "Mrs. Atlas has already started planning the wedding."

"Oh wow! Does Nasch know about this?" Gilag asked.

"He does." Durbe answered. "So does Hikari, for that matter."

"You knew about this the whole time and didn't say anything?" Cathy asked.

"It was not my place to say." Durbe pointed out as he calmly adjusted his glasses.

"Well… congrats, Rio." Kotori finally told her. "We're all happy for you."

"Thanks." Rio replied. "I just wish that my brother was a little happier about all this."

"For the record, I'm still not totally behind you marrying my sister." Shark told Cleo down on the stage.

"Too bad." Cleo responded. "You're just going to have to deal with it."

"Let the duel begin!" the referee announced.

Shark and Cleo activated their D-Gazers, as did everyone in the audience. In seconds the color of the surrounding space took on a slight change.

"I'll start this off!" Shark announced as he drew his first card. "I set one card on the field. Then I summon Left-Hand Shark in Defense Mode!" The five-finned shark appeared on the field. "That ends my turn."

Cleo calmly drew her first card. "I summon Red Sprinter in Attack Mode!"

Materializing on Cleo's side of the battlefield was a horse-like demon with skin the color of dried blood. A pair of curled black horns grew from the beast's head, and in place of hooves its front legs had a pair of five-fingered hands. Its rear legs ended in a pair of feet with two toes growing from the front and the third toe growing from the back. Red flames burned on the back of the demon's head like a mane, and another much longer flame burned from its rear end like a tail. More much smaller red flames burned on its wrists and ankles like tufts of fur.

"When I've summoned Red Sprinter while I have no monsters on the field, I can summon a level three or lower Fiend-type Tuner from my hand or Graveyard!" Cleo announced. "From my hand, I summon Force Resonator!"

Another one of Cleo's Resonator demons appeared on the field next to Red Sprinter. This demon had a large ornate blue ball on his back, and a fin-like collar around his helmet.

"I tune the level two Force Resonator into the level four Red Sprinter for a level six Synchro Summon!" Cleo announced.

Force Resonator shot bolts of yellow lightning from his fingertips into the air before changing into two green rings of light. The rings encircled Red Sprinter and transformed its into four white stars.

"The crimson souls shall become one! All shall tremble before the might of the empress!" Cleo chanted. "Synchro Summon! Appear, Red Wyvern!"

The stars flashed and burst into a pillar of red flames. In moments the flames subsided to reveal an armless dragon with green eyes and red scales. A bright red flame burned from the top of the wyvern's head, and on the side of each wing it had a blade like flame.

"This is new." Hikari told the other duelists down in the dugout. "I've never seen Cleo use this Synchro Monster before."

"So Cleo must've changed up her deck to face Shark." Yuma realized. "Any idea what her new strategy might be?"

"Knowing Cleo, it probably involves summoning Red Nova." Hikari assumed. "Beyond that, I've got no clue."

"Considering the type of duelist that Cleo is, I'm certain there's more to her strategy than just summoning Red Nova." Astral theorized. "It's very likely that she has a plan in place to counter the power of Shark's Number. That is the only card Shark has that can successfully oppose Red Nova."

"Right! Because Number 101 can just turn Red Nova into an overlay unit." Yuma realized.

Astral nodded. "Cleo will see that coming. It's safe to say that she probably has some kind of countermeasure to Number 101 prepared."

"Red Wyvern, attack Left-Hand Shark!" Cleo commanded. "Scarlet Flare!"

Red Wyvern opened its beak-like jaws and shot a red fireball across the field. The flaming projectile hit Shark's monster and caused it to explode with a flash of fire and smoke.

Shark smirked. "Is that all you've got?"

"I'm only just getting started." Cleo told him. "I set one card on the field and end my turn!"

Shark drew his first card. "I summon Right-Hand Shark in Attack Mode!" His over five-finned shark appeared on the battlefield. "When Right-Hand Shark is summoned to the field, I can bring back Left-Hand Shark from the Graveyard as a level four monster!" With that, Right-Hand Shark's counterpart reappeared on the field. "I overlay the level four Left-Hand Shark and Right-Hand Shark to Xyz Summon Bahamut Shark!"

A blue vortex appeared in the center of the battlefield and pulled in Shark's two monsters as balls of blue energy. Soon after, Bahamut Shark rose from the vortex and roared at Cleo with two balls of blue light orbiting around him.

"I activate Bahamut Shark's effect!" Shark announced. "By detaching one of Bahamut Shark's overlay units, I can summon a rank three or lower Water Xyz Monster from my Extra Deck! I summon Submersible Carrier Aero Shark!"

One of the balls of light orbiting Bahamut Shark entered the crest on his head. A portal of blue light appeared next to Bahamut Shark, and from it flew a creature that looked like a pair of black sharks joined together by pieces of orange and grey armor. The two fins on the conjoined shark's body were completely armored, and it had grey armor around each mouth. The dorsal fins of the two sharks were joined together by a single orange and grey wing like the spoiler of a sports car.

"I activate Rank-Up-Magic Quick Chaos!" Shark announced. "I use Submersible Carrier Aero Shark to rebuild the overlay network and Xyz Summon CXyz Submersible Cruiser Comet Shark!"

A vortex of red light appeared in the middle of the field and pulled in Aero Shark as a ball of blue energy. Flying out of the vortex seconds later was Aero Shark in a new and larger form. Much of its armor had changed from orange to white, and the tops of each shark's head looked like the cockpit of a space shuttle. A pair of white rocket boosters joined together by what appeared to be a red fuel tank had replaced the creature's original wing-like blade. On the top of the tank was a large black metal shark's fin. On the ground next to Comet Shark was a red crystal covered with gold plates.

"I activate Red Wyvern's effect!" Cleo announced. "One time while Red Wyvern is on the field during either of our turns, I can use him to destroy an opponent's monster with the highest ATK! Since Bahamut Shark has 2600 ATK while Comet Shark only has 2200, Bahamut Shark's time on the field has now ended!"

Red Wyvern opened its jaws again and shot another fireball across the field. Bahamut Shark was hit in the chest and exploded with a blast of fired and smoke.

"Now that you've lost Bahamut Shark, you can no longer use his effect to summon low-ranking Xyz Monsters and evolve them with those Rank-Up-Magic cards of yours." Cleo noted. "Not only that, my Red Wyvern is 200 points stronger than your Comet Shark."

"Don't be so sure." Shark told her. "I activate Comet Shark's effect! By detaching one of his overlay units, Comet Shark does 600 points of damage for each card in my hand! I have three cards in my hand right now, which means you take 1800 points of damage!"

Three missile ports opened up on Comet Shark's dorsal fin, and the tips of its rocket boosters opened up to reveal more hidden weapons. The mouths on both heads of the cybernetic shark opened up to reveal a pair of large red missiles that were hidden inside. On Shark's command, Comet Shark fired every weapon hidden on its body at Cleo. The missiles instantly exploded upon hitting their target. When the smoke cleared, Cleo was still standing but her life points had dropped to 2200.

"Since Comet Shark was summoned using Aero Shark as material, it gains ATK equal to the damage it just dealt until the end of the turn!" Shark announced. "Which means its ATK rises to 4000!"

"If Nasch's attack gets through, Cleo will take a serious hit." Alit observed down in the dugout.

"That's not all!" Shark continued. "I activate my Trap, Xyz Reborn! With this card I summon Bahamut Shark back from the Graveyard!"

Bahamut Shark reappeared on the battlefield with a roar. The large card that had been Shark's Trap quickly turned into a ball of blue light and was pulled into Bahamut Shark's orbit.

"Bahamut Shark, attack Red Wyvern!" Shark commanded. "God Voice!"

Bahamut Shark opened his jaws and let loose a sonic blast. The sound wave traveled across the battlefield and hit Red Wyvern, causing the dragon to shatter into bits of gold light. Cleo's life points took a slight drop to 2000.

"Time to finish this!" Shark declared. "Comet Shark, attack Cleo directly! Star Shark Rush!"

"I activate my Trap, Reject Reborn!" Cleo announced as Comet Shark flew towards her. "This Trap cancels your attack and ends the Battle Phase! And in the process, I can summon a Tuner monster and a Synchro Monster from the Graveyard with their effects negated. I summon back Force Resonator and Red Wyvern!"

As Comet Shark came near, a pillar of purple light burst up from the ground and froze the cybernetic shark in its path. The pillar of light quickly faded to reveal that Red Wyvern and Force Resonator were back on the field.

"Impressive." Astral remarked. "In a single move, Cleo negated Shark's attack and brought together everything she needed for another Synchro Summon."

"And we can guess what Synchro Monster that Cleo plans on summoning next." Hikari added.

"Thank you for playing right into my hands, Ryoga." Cleo told him. "I knew you'd be bold enough to try and finish me off in one turn. I would expect nothing less from my future brother-in-law."

"Did you really just have to call me that?" Shark asked with a look of disgust.

"Just what is it that you have against me, Ryoga?" Cleo asked.

"You're stuck-up and arrogant, for one thing." Shark answered. "Plus in our past lives you kidnapped my sister."

"Oh please. It's not like she was a prisoner." Cleo told him. "Besides, that was in another life, as you just said. But since we're on the subject of our shared past, is there some other objection for you have from there about me marrying Rio? Like what happened with Arclight?"

"…Nah, I'm not mad at you for that." Shark answered, looking towards the ground with his eyes. "I know I got pissed at you for letting Rio get hurt, but I know that none of that was your fault. If anything, you tried to stop her from going. So I'm not mad about that anymore."

"Glad to hear it." Cleo replied. "Now, I assume you're done with your turn?"

"Yeah, go ahead." Shark answered.

Cleo drew her next card. "I think you know what's coming next. I tune the level two Force Resonator into the level six Red Wyvern for a level six Synchro Summon!"

Force Resonator shot bolts of lightning from his fingers into the air and transformed into two green rings of light. The rings encircled Red Wyvern and changed him into six white stars.

"The ruler's heartbeats will now file through here! Take witness to its creation-shaking power!" Cleo chanted. "Synchro Summon! My very soul, Red Dragon Archfiend!"

The stars flashed and became a pillar of light that shot into the sky. The light quickly faded and Red Dragon Archfiend appeared on the field with a roar.

"I summon Red Resonator in Attack Mode!" Cleo announced.

Another Resonator demon appeared on Cleo's side of the field, but it was much different than the demons that she had used before. His robes appeared to be made of red flames, and hanging down the front of his chest was a purple banner bearing a red symbol that looked like the letter A. On the back of the little demon were two sets of black rods joined together by red orbs in a way that made them look almost like wings. Small red flames burned on the demon's helmet in place of horns. In his right hand he carried a large golden tuning fork, and in his left he held a gold rod with a red orb on the tip.

"When Red Resonator is summoned to the field, I can summon a level four or lower monster from my hand!" Cleo continued. "I summon a second Red Resonator!" Another flaming Resonator demon identical to the first materialized on the field. "Since my second Red Resonator was special summoned, I can target another monster on the field and gain life points equal to its ATK. And of course the monster I choose it Red Dragon Archfiend!"

The second Red Resonator began to glow with a red aura and fired sparks of red light from the orb on his rod at Cleo. Cleo's life points rose from 2000 all the way to 5000.

"I don't believe it." An amazed Hikari spoke. "Not only did Cleo summon everything she needs to bring forth Red Nova, she regained more life points than she had to start with."

"I tune both my level two Red Resonators into my level eight Red Dragon Archfiend for a level twelve Synchro Summon!" Cleo announced.

Both of the little demons clinked their tuning forks and changed into four rings made of crimson fire. The rings encircled Red Dragon Archfiend and began like a small burning sun.

"The Empress and the Devil shall here and now be as one! A Raging Spirit! Lift up the very cries of Creation itself!" Cleo chanted. "Synchro Summon! The power to smite the gods, Red Nova Dragon!"

With that, the star exploded and Red Nova Dragon burst forth from the flames. The dragon roared at Bahamut Shark and Comet Shark, prompting Bahamut Shark to growl in response.

"Know this, Ryoga!" Cleo spoke. "We may be family in the near future, but for right now in this duel, I will see you driven before me!"

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I hope nobody thinks that it's weird that Cleo used some of the cards originally used by her father's Arc-V counterpart. I couldn't think of any other way to improve her deck. Besides, I consider writing a duel with those cards in this story to be practice for another story I've been developing on and off for almost a year now. ;)

Please review and let me know what you think.


	21. Duelist Empress

**Author's Note:** I'd like to take a moment to respond to a recent review I got this morning from PatchGlade, who had some concerns that Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend was going to be appearing in this chapter or later chapters of this story. Since this may be a concern that might be shared by other readers, I decided to use this author's note to assure everyone that Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend will not be showing up in this story or any future ZEXAL fanfic I might do involving Cleo. A few of the other "Red" monsters used by the Arc-V version of Jack Atlas might show up later in Cleo's deck, but Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend is where I draw the line.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.

* * *

Chapter 21: Duelist Empress

"Because I currently have three Tuners in my Graveyard, Red Nova's ATK rises to 5000." Cleo announced. "Red Nova, obliterate Comet Shark! Burning Soul!"

Red Nova's body became shrouded in crimson flames as he flew towards Comet Shark. Upon impact, the mechanical space shark's body exploded and the metal pieces of its armor scattered across the battlefield. Shark's life points took a heavy drop to 1200.

"I'll set one card on the field and end my turn." Cleo announced.

"You really have improved." Shark admitted. "That makes you even more of a pain in the ass."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Cleo responded. "You should just make things easy on yourself and surrender now. I'm sure that Rio would understand."

"Like hell!" Shark told her as he drew his next card. The card he pulled from the top of his deck gave off a crimson flash. "I activate Rank-Up-Magic – The Seventh One! With this card, I call forth Number 101: Silent Honor ARK to Xyz Summon Number C101: Silent Honor DARK!"

A large vortex formed in the air behind Shark and his blue submarine monster flew out. The front of the submersible burst open and the aquatic warrior that was Silent Honor DARK leapt out and landed on the battlefield. Soon after, the Number monster's original form changed into a red crystal with gold plates.

"I activate my face-down card, Demise of the Land!" Cleo announced. "When my opponent special summons a monster, Demise of the Land lets me activate a Field Spell from my deck. The Field Spell I activate is Domain of the Earthbound!"

Suddenly dark-purple clouds that flashed with lightning had covered the sky. The stadium floor had become grey and had large lines drawn upon it. The lines appeared to be part of some sort of pattern, but whatever the pattern was it was too large to identify from the ground.

The color drained from Hikari's face upon seeing their surroundings. "What… what's Cleo doing with this Field Spell?"

"You've seen this Field Spell before Hikari?" Yuma asked.

"Yeah. Once." Hikari confirmed. "Now that I think about it, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that Cleo has this card too, considering what Red Nova Dragon is."

"I don't know what kind of trick you're trying to pull, but it's not going to work!" Shark declared. "I activate Silent Honor DARK's effect! Once per turn, I can target one monster my opponent controls and change it into an overlay unit. And the monster I'm targeting is Red Nova Dragon!"

"Big mistake." Cleo told him.

Suddenly Number C101's body became completely covered in red flames. When the flames subsided, the only thing left of Silent Honor DARK was a scorch mark on the ground.

"What the hell just happened?" a stunned Shark demanded to know.

"Red Nova happens to be of a special breed of monsters that Domain of the Earthbound protects." Cleo explained. "When a monster targets Red Nova or one of his kind with an effect, Domain of the Earthbound lets me negate that effect and destroy the monster that used it."

"This must be the countermeasure that Cleo prepared for Shark's Number." Astral realized. "As long as Domain of the Earthbound is on the field, effects that require a specific target like that of Shark's Number are rendered completely useless."

"And Red Nova can't be destroyed by opposing card effects." Hikari added. "Plus even if Ryoga could boost the ATK of one of his monsters, Cleo can use another one of Red Nova's effects to block the attack."

"I activate another one of Silent Honor DARK's effects!" Shark announced. "Since he was just destroyed by your Field Spell, I can summon him back from the Graveyard and gain life points equal to his original ATK!"

Number C101 rose up from the ground like a ghost, twirling his red spear above his head. The aquatic warrior glowed with a blue aura as he appeared, showing Shark with sparkling blue lights. The water duelist's life points quickly rose back up to 4000.

"I'm not going down that easily." Shark declared. "You can knock me down all you want, but I'll just keep coming back."

"Perhaps, but what do you expect to do with just that Number of yours and Bahamut Shark?" Cleo asked.

"Nothing, for now." Shark answered. "But the fact is that while you may have that practically invincible dragon, it can't take down my ultimate monster."

"It does seem like we've reached a stalemate." Cleo admitted.

"The way it is now, Red Nova can't be destroyed or targeted for card effects." Hikari observed. "But at the same time, Number C101 can just revive itself from the Graveyard after being destroyed and can only be destroyed in battle with another Number."

"In other words, unless something changes, neither monster can overcome the other." Astral restated.

"So then what happens now?" Yuma asked. "I mean, this can't go on forever, can it?"

"The stalemate will continue until either Shark or Cleo can draw a card that can tip the scales of battle in their favor." Astral answered. "The question is, who will draw that card first?"

"This is turning out to be a real laugh, huh Mitaka?" Alnia asked Samantha in the rival dugout. "It's like the irresistible force against the immovable object. I actually wouldn't mind facing either of these losers in a duel. They'd sure be an improvement over most of the other chumps in this tournament."

"I'm not sure I'd be that eager to face the leader of Don Thousand's former pawns if I were you." Samantha told her. "He could end up having one of those Shining Numbers like that one that took down Ani."

"You make a good point." Alnia admitted. "Plus the Singer girl's combo of that dragon with Domain of the Earthbound could pose a problem even for my Number. Still, I do enjoy a challenge."

"I'll end my turn here." Shark announced. "I don't know how this duel will end for sure, but even you have to admit that I'm not the same guy you dueled two years ago."

"We do seem to be evenly matched." Cleo admitted. "But in the end, I will still be the one to win this duel! That is because I am the empress of duelists!"

"Get over yourself!" Shark told her. "You may be the daughter of a legendary duelist, but that doesn't make you invincible! Even if you are some duelist empress like you say you are, then I'm going to knock you off that throne of yours!"

"That's where you're wrong, because I'm going to end this duel right now!" Cleo declared as she drew her next card. The card she pulled from the deck seemed to give off a brief flash of crimson flames. "I activate the Spell card, Scarlet Dominion! Because I have a Red monster on the battlefield, I can banish all monsters my opponent controls and deal 500 points of damage for each one!"

Red Nova roared as his body gave off a fiery red aura. A large red fireball began to form in the dragon's right hand. Red Nova thrust his fist at Shark's monsters, sending the fireball across the field. Upon hitting the ground, the flaming projectile exploded and both of Shark's monsters were vaporized. The water duelist's life points took a drop to 3000.

"Your Number can only revive itself from being destroyed if it's in the Graveyard." Cleo pointed out. "Since Silent Honor DARK was banished from the field, you can't bring him back to protect you."

"Shark doesn't have any face-down cards on the field." Kotori observed from the skybox. "It looks like this duel is pretty much over, doesn't it?"

"Dammit, Nasch!" Mizael cursed. "I thought that at least you could avenge my defeat to that woman."

"Shark gave it a good effort." Kaito spoke. "Still, Cleo seems to be on a whole other level. She really is the daughter of Jack Atlas."

"It's time to end this!" Cleo declared. "Red Nova, attack him directly! Burning Soul!"

Red Nova's body became shrouded in flames once again as he flew across the field. In seconds the dragon rammed into Shark, nearly knocking him off the stage. Upon being struck, Shark's life points went to zero and the duel came to an end. Red Nova vanished and the surrounding space returned to normal.

"And the winner of the duel is… Cleo Atlas!" the referee announced.

The entire stadium erupted into cheers upon hearing this declaration. Meanwhile down on the stage, Shark got back to his feet and walked up to Cleo.

"I guess you win this round." Shark told her. "But don't think this is over between us. Once I get a bit stronger, I'll come back to take you on again."

"I look forward to it." Cleo replied.

"You still get under my skin, Atlas. But I respect you as a duelist." Shark admitted. "Next to Yuma, Kaito and Thomas, you're one of the strongest opponents I've ever faced."

"You're not so bad yourself." Cleo told him. "You're not quite on Hikari's level, but you are one of the stronger opponents I've come up against. Now, let's clear off this stage."

With that, Cleo and Shark left the stage and returned to the dugout. Yuma and Hikari walked up to the two as soon as they entered.

"Sorry I had to crush your boyfriend just now, Hikari." Cleo told her.

"Don't worry about it." Hikari replied. "I'll just pay you back when we face off in the next round."

"Don't be so sure about that, Hikari." Yuma cut in. "If you want to get to Cleo, you'll have to get past me and Astral first."

"The next duel will be between Michael Arclight and Alnia!" the referee announced. "The duel will begin in five minutes!"

"Well, looks like I'm up next." Michael observed as he stood up. "Wish me luck, everyone."

"Be careful out there, Michael." Yuma told him. "Remember how Gauche ended up in the hospital."

"Don't worry. I've got the perfect strategy to take down Alnia." Michael assured him. "Her Number won't be an issue."

"Perhaps I should loan you some of my Numbers for this duel as a precaution." Astral suggested.

"Thanks for the offer Astral, but I'll be fine." Michael replied. "Alnia won't even know what hit her."

Yuma and Astral couldn't help but look on with worry as Michael headed towards the stage. They both knew that Alnia was one of the most dangerous duelists they had ever encountered, and while they knew that Michael was as skilled a duelist as just about everyone else in the group, Yuma and Astral were not all that confident in his abilities to overcome the leader of the Barian Death Queens. This feeling seemed to be shared with most of the others watching from the skybox.

"So now Michael is going up against Alnia." Kotori observed. "Is there any way he can beat her?"

"Michael's a pretty smart duelist." Droite pointed out. "He may not be able to overcome Alnia when it comes to sheer power, but I'm sure he has some kind of strategy up his sleeve that might just trip her up."

"It may not be enough." Kaito told them with a grave expression. "Out of all of us left in the tournament, Cleo seems to have the best chance of beating Alnia in a duel. That combo of Red Nova Dragon and Domain of the Earthbound can render at least two of the effects that Alnia's Number possesses useless."

"You guys are writing off Michael just a little too quickly." Stacy interjected. "He might just end up surprising you all in this duel."

"Do you know what kind of strategy Michael has up his sleeve?" Rio asked.

"Yep. I helped him plan it out last night." Stacy revealed with a wink. "As for what that strategy is, I'm going to let that be a surprise."

Down on the stage, Michael waited patiently for the five-minute intermission to end. He took the time to double-check the cards in his deck to make sure he had everything he needed to execute his plan. At long last, the referee announced the start of the next duel and Alnia walked into the stage.

The white-haired Death Queen looked at Michael with a scowl. "Guess you're the last wimp I have to crush before I can get to the real opponents. Let's make this quick, Chronomoly boy."

"You shouldn't underestimate me." Michael warned. "You may have a powerful Number, but I've figured out one weakness it has that I can use. Don't be surprised if you end up losing this duel."

Alnia burst into laughter. "You sure have some stones on you, girly-boy. I'll give you that. But let me make one thing clear, I am way out of your league. If you were smart, you'd just walk off this stage now. Otherwise, I won't have any choice but to rip you to pieces."

"Let the duel begin!" the referee announced.

Michael activated his D-Gazer tattoo while Alnia's red eye turned from green to gold and her left arm took on its Barian form, causing her blade-like duel disk to appear. The members of the audience activated their D-Gazers as well and the color of the surrounding area changed again.

"There's no turning back now, kid." Alnia told him. "Prepare to experience hell."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I know, I know. This chapter was pathetically short. For that, you all have my deepest apologies. I thought I could split the duel into two equal halves, but it turns out that I was mistaken. I couldn't really figure out a good way to stretch out the rest of the duel, so this was the best I could manage. Again, I apologize.

Anyway, those of you reading who are familiar with my previous works might remember the Domain of the Earthbound card that Cleo uses from 5D's Alternative Book 2: The False King. I do enjoy dusting off old cards I made up for previous stories to use in new ones.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	22. The Terror of Alnia

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.

* * *

Chapter 22: The Terror of Alnia

"I'll start this off." Alnia declared as she drew her first card. "I summon Archfiend Tomb Builder in Defense Mode!"

Materializing on Alnia's side of the battlefield in a kneeling position was a humanoid demon with dark-grey skin and a skull-like face with red eyes and yellow teeth. He was dressed similar to an Ancient Egyptian and wore a white cloth on his head. In his hands, the demon carried a hammer and chisel.

"When I've normal summoned Archfiend Tomb Builder, I can add a Trap card from my deck to my hand." Alnia continued. "I'll set that card on the field and end my turn."

"That's the first monster Alnia used when she dueled me and Kaito." Droite identified up in the skybox.

"Which means we can probably guess what sort of combo that Alnia is going for." Kaito assumed.

"And just what sort of trick does Alnia have up her sleeve?" Vector asked.

"When Archfiend Tomb Builder is destroyed, Alnia can use its effect to set two more Trap cards from her deck on the field." Kaito explained. "If I'm right, all of those Traps are actually level six Trap Monsters that will be summoned as soon as Alnia activates them."

"Which means Alnia will have three level six monsters!" Kotori realized. "Exactly what she needs to summon her Number."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Stacy told them with a knowing smirk. "Trust me, Michael has this duel covered."

Michael drew his first card. "First I activate the Spell card, Terraforming and add a Field Spell to my hand! Next I activate the Field Spell, Sacred City El Dorado!"

Suddenly the stadium stage turned gold and four ornate golden pillars appeared on each corner. The pillars had a design similar to something that might've been found in the ruins of an Aztec or Mayan city. Soon after the pillars materialized, dazzling buildings and pyramids made of gold began to appear outside the stadium.

"Fancy." Alnia remarked as she looked around at the new surroundings. "You've certainly chosen a flashy place to die."

"This field we're on is based on the mythical city of El Dorado, a place known as the city of gold." Michael explained. "Unfortunately for you, this city is the worst place you could possibly be. That's because while El Dorado is in play, neither player can special summon any level six or higher monsters except for Chronomaly monsters!"

"What!" Alnia exclaimed.

"That Number monster you use is a pretty dangerous monster, but it has one critical weakness." Michael continued. "It requires three level six monsters to use as material in order to summon. Summoning three level six monsters normally takes too long, which is why you have to rely on Trap Monsters quick-summoning monsters like those Archfiend Scarab Soldiers that you used when you dueled Gauche. As long as I can stop you from playing those monsters, your Number is stuck in your Extra Deck."

"You're starting to piss me off." Alnia told him.

"He just sealed Alnia's Number!" Anna observed up in the skybox.

"Not a bad plan." Durbe admitted. "And you knew about this strategy the whole time, Ms. Stacy?"

"Yeah. I was actually the one who helped Michael come up with it." Stacy revealed. "Originally I suggested to him that he could use some kind of card to return Alnia's Number back to the Extra Deck, but he went one better and came up with a plan to prevent Alnia from summoning the card in the first place."

"Wow! I never expected Michael to use a strategy like this!" Yuma spoke down in the dugout. "He might have a shot at winning this duel after all."

"He has done a good job of sealing Alnia's Number," Astral admitted, "but the seal isn't perfect. There are a few weaknesses that Alnia could exploit."

"I activate Polymerization!" Michael announced. "From my hand, I fuse Chronomaly Mud Golem with Chronomaly Crystal Bones and Chronomaly Crystal Skull to summon the ancient guardian of light! Come forth, Chronomaly Crystal Golem!"

Three monsters appeared in the air above Michael. The first was the statue of a warrior made out of brown clay. It had a golden lens on the front of its head in place of a face, and on each side of its head was a short thick curved horn that curved forward. Its chest had two eyes that looked like a pair of alien-looking goggles. The warrior held a long sword with a red gem in its right hand, and in his left was a shorter bladed weapon with a large loop in the middle. Michael's other two monsters were an alien-looking skull made out of crystal and a set of crystal bones that looked like they could be the body of the skull. All three monsters were pulled into a vortex that appeared in the air above the battlefield.

Dropping down out of the vortex a few seconds later was a larger version of Mud Golem that had a body made of blue crystal instead of brown clay. A pair of small carved-feathered wings had replaced the horns on his head, and there was a pair of larger feathered wings on its back. In each hand, the crystalline golem held a large golden sword with alien writing carved on the sides of each blade.

"A Chronomaly Fusion Monster?" Shark spoke with a quirked brow. "Where the hell did that come from?"

"As long as it can help Michael defeat Alnia, who cares?" Alit pointed out.

"I now activate another effect of Sacred City El Dorado!" Michael announced. "When I've special summoned a Chronomaly monster, I get to draw one extra card. Now I attack Archfiend Tomb Builder with Crystal Golem! And before you get any ideas about activating that card you set, you should know that when Crystal Golem attacks, my opponent can't activate any set Spell or Trap cards until after the damage step."

"You little…" Alnia began to curse.

"Crystal Golem! Destroy Tomb Builder Archfiend!" Michael commanded. "Celestial Slash!"

Crystal Golem dashed across the field and cut Archfiend Tomb Builder in half with its two swords. The two halves shattered into particles of light and Alnia's life points dropped to 2900.

"Hey! What the hell?" Alnia protested. "My damn monster was in Defense Mode! How the hell did I just take damage?"

"I forgot to mention that while Crystal Golem is on the field, all my Chronomaly monsters are able to inflict piercing damage." Michael revealed.

"Yeah? Well since Archfiend Tomb Builder was just sent to the Graveyard, I can set two more Trap cards from my deck on the field!" Alnia announced.

"Sorry, but I'm afraid those new Traps of yours are going straight to the Graveyard." Michale told her. "When Crystal Golem inflicts battle damage while I control a Field Spell, every set Spell and Trap card on my opponent's side of the field is destroyed."

Crystal Golem suddenly stabbed his two swords into the ground. Soon after, all three of the large cards that Alnia had previously set on the field exploded.

"I'll end my turn there." Michael announced.

"Michael not only locked down Alnia's Number, he locked down most of her best Traps too." Hikari observed. "Not a bad strategy."

"Indeed." Cleo agreed. "He's proving to be a much better duelist than I thought."

Alnia drew her next card. "I summon Mist Archfiend in Attack Mode!"

A white mist gathered together on Alnia's side of the battlefield and quickly took the shape of a demon. Much of its body was orange-red and it had a black skull-like face. It had large black ribs on its torso and its arms ended in large black claws. On the demon's back was a pair of black bat-like wings.

"Next I activate Monster Reborn and summon Archfiend Tomb Builder back from the Graveyard!" Alnia announced. The demon tomb builder reappeared on the white-haired duelist's side of the field. "I activate the Spell card, Resonance Device! With this card, I'm able to match Archfiend Tomb Builder's level to Mist Archfiend's, making them both level five!"

Beams of green light shot up from the ground beneath Mist Archfiend and Archfiend Tomb Builder. After a moment the beams faded and both monsters were giving off a feint green aura.

"I overlay my two level five monsters and Xyz Summon Imprisoned Archfiend Mummy!" Alnia announced.

A red vortex appeared in the center of the battlefield and pulled in Alnia's two demons as balls of orange energy. Seconds later, an iron-grey sarcophagus with a skull-like face and two balls of red light orbiting around it rose out of the center of the vortex. Suddenly the sarcophagus exploded, covering Alnia's side of the field with a cloud of dust. When the dust settled, a humanoid demon with long but muscular arms was standing in place of the sarcophagus, its two balls of red light orbiting around it. The demon had shriveled pitch-black skin and his body was wrapped tightly in brown cloth bandages. His left eye was scarred shut, and on the side of his head were two gold curled horns, with a chunk of the right horn having been broken off. A thick iron shackle was around the undead demon's neck, and long thick chains hung down from the manacles on his wrists.

"This monster originally rose from the hatred of a man from before my time who was wrongly accused of a crime and executed." Alnia revealed. "And now he's going to be the instrument of your destruction! Archfiend Mummy, destroy Crystal Golem! Malice Buster!"

"But your mummy only has 2200 ATK!" a surprised Michael pointed out. "My Crystal Golem has 2800 ATK! There's no way your monster can win!"

"Guess again, girly boy! When Imprisoned Archfiend Mummy attacks while it has at least one overlay unit, it gains 1000 ATK during the battle!" Alnia revealed. "Your golem is about to become a pile of dust!"

The undead demon opened his fang mouth and spewed out a blast of crackling black energy. The attack struck Crystal Golem in the chest, creating an explosion that washed out Michael's side of the field in smoke. When the smoke cleared though, Crystal Golem was still on the battlefield, though Michael's life points had fallen to 3600.

"What the… why the hell is that damn golem still on the field?" Alnia demanded to know.

"Crystal Golem can't be destroyed in battle." Michael explained. "Sorry I forgot to mention that earlier. Guess I should also point out that as long as Sacred City El Dorado is on the field, Chronomaly monsters are protected from destruction by card effects. In other words, my Crystal Golem's not going anywhere."

Alnia gritted her teeth in frustration. "Oh yeah? Well you still took battle damage from that attack, so I can still use Archfiend Mummy's effect! Chain Lashing! When Imprisoned Archfiend Mummy inflicts battle damage, I can detach one of his overlay units to inflict another 800 points of damage!"

One of the balls of red light orbiting Archfiend Mummy entered his single blood red eye. The demon raised his right arm and whipped the chain attached to it across the field at Michael. The pink-haired duelist quickly raised his arms to protect himself, but his life points still dropped to 2800.

"So that's the best you can do?" Michael asked with a confident smirk. "Guess you're a whole lot easier to beat without your Number to help you."

"You're really starting to get under my skin." An annoyed Alnia declared. "I'll end my turn there! But on my next turn, you're dead for sure!"

"Man! Michael is really owning this duel!" Alit declared. "It's kinda hard to believe right now that Alnia took down Kaito and Droite."

"Michael does indeed have the advantage in this duel, but how long can he really maintain it?" Astral wondered. "I can't help but think that Alnia hasn't been showing her full power in this duel."

"Are you saying that she's been holding back?" Cleo asked.

"It would make sense. Alnia didn't view Michael to be a major threat going into the duel." Astral pointed out. "She made the mistake of underestimating him. Now that she's seen what Michael is truly capable of, I'm certain that she's going to unleash her full power on her next turn."

"C'mon, Astral. You're worrying too much." Yuma assured him. "Michael's totally got Alnia on the ropes. She can't really do much of anything with her Number sealed up like it is."

"I told you before, Yuma. The seal is not perfect." Astral reminded him. "Alnia may be unable to bring forth level six monsters needed to build the overlay network, but there are still other ways she can call forth Number 666."

Michael drew his next card. "I activate the Spell card, Palenque Sarcophagus! This card allows me to draw two more cards!"

A large sarcophagus made of grey stone suddenly burst out of the ground next to Michael. The lid of the sarcophagus slid open to reveal nothing inside, but as soon as it opened up Michael's deck began to glow. Michael drew two more cards and the sarcophagus vanished.

"Since I just activated a Spell card, I can special summon Chronomaly Aztec Mask Golem from my hand!" Michael announced.

Five orbs made of blue, red, white, green, and yellow light descended from the sky above and began to swirl around a fixed point on the ground. The rotation of the orbs sped up until they quickly merged to form the red, oranage and green mechanical body of Michael's favorite monster. A beam of green light then shot up from the ground beneath the body and formed into another green orb. The orb took its place above the golem's neck and changed into a red and gold Aztec mask with a face on the forehead like that of a leopard.

"Since I just special summoned a Chronomaly monster, I use Sacred City El Dorado's effect to draw another card." Michael continued. "Next I play Chronomaly Pyramid Eye Tablet, boosting the ATK of my Chronomaly monsters on the field by 800!"

A large golden tablet engraved with hieroglyphics and the symbol of a large eye at the top appeared behind Michael's two monsters. A beam of gold light began to shine from the eye on the tablet, causing the two golems to glow with a golden aura.

"I summon Chronomaly Colossal Head in Attack Mode!" Michael announced.

Materializing next to Michael's other monsters was a large black stone carved in the shape of a head. The face of the head had yellow eyes, and on the top of the head was a thick red stripe.

"I overlay my level four Aztec Mask Golem and Colossal Head to Xyz Summon my ace card!" Michael announced. "Come forth, Chronomaly Golden Aztec Golem!"

A blue vortex appeared in the center of the battlefield and pulled in the two Chronomaly monsters as balls of blue energy. Seconds later, the larger gold version of Aztec Mask Golem rose out of the center of the vortex with two balls of golden light orbiting around it.

"Thanks to Pyramid Eye Tablet, Golden Aztec Golem's ATK rises to 3300." Michael continued. "And now I attack Archfiend Mummy with Crystal Golem! Celestial Slash!"

Crystal Golem charged across the field and cut the demon mummy in half with his two golden blades. The two halves of Archfiend Mummy shattered into dust and Alnia's life points dropped to 1500.

"Golden Aztec Golem, attack Alnia directly!" Michael commanded. "Sun God Prominence!"

The golden golem fired a beam of gold energy across the battlefield at Alnia. Only seconds before the beam was about to hit though, a black and grey Egyptian statue with a skull-like face appeared in front of the white-haired duelist. The statue intercepted the attack and exploded and sent back bolts of black electricity across the battlefield. The energy bolts struck Michael, dropping his life points to 1550.

"Since you declared a direct attack, I was able to discard Cursed Ushabti to negate your attack and deal damage equal to half your golden golem's original ATK!" Alnia announced. "There's no way in hell I'm letting someone like you take me down!"

"Guess I'll have to end my turn there." Michael decided.

"Damn!" Alit cursed. "And he was so close to taking her down!"

"They're proving to be a lot more evenly matched than I thought they'd be." Hikari observed.

"Yes. But I fear that is about to change." Astral told them.

"I've had enough of this shit!" Alnia cried out as she drew her next card.

As Alnia pulled the next card from her deck, it gave off a flash of crimson light. Suddenly the ground on Alnia's side of the field burst open and Imprisoned Archfiend Mummy climbed out of the hole.

"What… what's going on?" a startled Michael asked.

"When Imprisoned Archfiend Mummy is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard by my opponent, I can summon it back from the Graveyard during the start of my next turn!" Alnia revealed. "But that's not all! When I've summoned Imprisoned Archfiend Mummy using this effect, I can discard a Spell card to use him as material to Xyz Summon a monster one rank higher!"

"She can what?" a stunned Yuma exclaimed.

"I discard Shadow Trap Disposal from my hand to build the overlay network and call forth my ultimate monster!" Alnia announced. "Appear, Number 666: Archfiend Pharaoh Lucifer!"

A massive vortex in the form of a red galaxy appeared in the center of the field and pulled in Alnia's monster as a ball of red energy. Soon after, the tablet of the Millennium Items rose out of the vortex with a single ball of gold light orbiting around it. The tablet shattered and Alnia's demon pharaoh hovered over the field.

"No way!" a horrified Yuma spoke. "Even after all that, Alnia was still able to summon her Number?"

"This is what I meant when I said the seal on Alnia's Number was imperfect." Astral explained. "With her ability to special summon level six monsters taken away, there were still at least two other ways for Alnia to summon Number 666. She could've summoned three lower level monsters and raised their levels to six, or she could've somehow used another Xyz Monster as the summoning material."

"Duelists like you really piss me off, you know that?" Alnia told Michael. "You get so damn smug when you think you've found some tiny weakness to exploit. Well let me tell you something, girly boy! You're not as smart as you think you are! I activate the Spell card, Number Authority! By detaching all the overlay units from a Number monster I control, that Number can attack directly for this turn!"

The single ball of gold light orbiting around Lucifer suddenly shattered and a dazzling gold light began to shine behind the demon pharaoh. The eyes of Michael's two monsters began to glow red and they kneeled down on one knee.

"It's over." Alnia declared.

"Guess again! I activate Golden Aztec Golem's effect!" Michael announced. "Since you just activated a Spell card, I can detach one of Golden Aztec Golem's overlay units to destroy all specially summoned monsters you control!" But when Michael tried to activate the golden golem's effect using his duel disk, nothing happened.

Alnia let out a sinister laugh. "Sorry, but thanks to Number Authority, the effects of all other special summoned monsters that aren't Numbers can't be activated for the rest of the turn. Look at those two golems of yours. They're kneeling right now because Number Authority just reminded them that Numbers are the supreme form of Xyz Monsters in this game. They know that Lucifer is their better, so they're now bowing before him."

"It's over." Kaito darkly observed from the skybox. "Michael's strategy has failed."

"This is what you get for screwing with me!" Alnia declared. "Lucifer! Attack him directly! Millennium Ruin!"

Lucifer aimed the Millennium Rod at Michael and a large ball of crackling black energy formed at the end of it. The black blast shot across the battlefield and hit Michael, hurling him off the stage and into the wall behind him. Michael hit the wall with enough force to leave a crater. As he slid down to the floor, blood began to trickle down from the corners of his lips. Michael's life points went to zero, and all the monsters on the field vanished. The audience was completely silent as the surrounding area returned to normal.

"Uh… and the winner of this duel is… Alnia!" the referee announced. The audience remained silent.

Alnia walked off the stage with a satisfied grin on her face, Yuma and the others rushed over to Michael's side. The pink-haired duelist was out cold, and his breathing seemed to be labored. Yuma tried to get Michael to wake up, but it was no use.

"Um… due to the accident we've seem to have just had, the next duel will be postponed for an hour!" The referee announced. "When we return, the following duel will be between Yuma Tsukumo and Hikari Fudo!"

* * *

Yuma and all of his friends were in the hospital waiting room, awaiting news of Michael's condition. Only twenty minuets had gone by since Michael had been rushed there. At long last, a female doctor entered the waiting room to brief them.

"How is he, doc?" a worried Yuma asked.

"Your friend has suffered massive internal injuries." The doctor reported. "I am at a loss as to how he could've sustained these injuries in a duel though. In any case, your friend is stable at the moment, but still unconscious. There's no telling at the moment when or if he'll wake up."

"You're saying he's in a coma?" Kotori asked.

"I'm afraid so." The doctor confirmed. "We're moving him to his room right now. You'll be able to visit him in a few minutes. Now, if you'll all excuse me." With that, the doctor left.

"How… how could this have happened?" Yuma asked.

"That Alnia is a real piece of work." Shark remarked. "She's willing to kill off anyone who ticks her off even a little bit."

"Some of us should stay at the hospital to help keep an eye on Michael." Kotori suggested.

"Count me in." Stacy told them.

"I've already called Christopher and Mr. Arclight." Kaito informed the others. "They should be here pretty soon. I haven't been able to get ahold of Thomas though."

As the others began talking about who was going to keep an eye on Michael in the hospital and when, Yuma silently left the room. The only one who seemed to notice him leaving was Cleo. Yuma stopped at the end of the hallway and looked down at his feet. His fighting spirit had been all but crushed after seeing what happened to Michael. After a few moments of silence, particles of light flowed out of the Emperor's Key and took the shape of Astral.

"Are you okay, Yuma?" the energy being asked, though he already knew the answer.

"…I don't know if I can keep going in this tournament, Astral." Yuma told him. "This was supposed to be fun, but now…"

"We knew going in that we were going to have to face the Death Queens." Astral pointed out. "The stakes we're going to be high against them."

"I know that. And I was taking them seriously as a threat, but… I was hoping that we could at least have fun in the other duels against Kaito, Shark, Hikari and everyone else. Looking forward to those duels made this tournament all worth it." Yuma explained. "But after what's happened to Michael, how can I still have fun?"

"Quit your moping, Tsukumo!" a voice cut in. Yuma and Astral looked to see Cleo standing before them with her arms crossed. "You're going to be up against your strongest opponent yet, so this is no time to be feeling sorry for yourself or anyone else!"

"But… but how can I keep going knowing that Michael's in a coma?" Yuma asked.

"Giving up now would be the greatest insult to Michael you could do." Cleo told him. "Sure he fell in defeat and fell hard, but he would want you to continue. Let Kotori and the others worry about staying at Michael's bedside. You just focus on your duel with Hikari. As for Alnia, leave the task of destroying her to me."

"But…" Yuma spoke, but before he could get anything else out Cleo stormed over and grabbed him by his shirt.

"If you drop out of this tournament now because of something like this, then you are not a duelist!" Cleo told him. "You and Astral also have a duty to uphold, and by dropping out you'll be letting Alnia win! Now get it together!" With that, she let go of Yuma's shirt.

After a moment, a small smile returned to Yuma's face. "Thanks Cleo. I'll do my best."

"You're up against Hikari, so I'm not expecting you to win." Cleo told him as she turned to leave. "In the end, the final duel of this tournament will probably just be another rematch between me and her."

"Are you ready, Yuma?" Astral asked as Cleo walked off.

"You bet I am." Yuma answered. "But are you sure our strategy against Hikari is going to work?"

"No, but at the moment it's the best strategy we have." Astral answered. "It's time to see if we have what it takes to stand against the daughter of a legendary duelist."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** We all knew that things weren't going to end well for Michael in this chapter. After all, Alnia is the main villain in this story. Anyway, the duel in this chapter ended up being kind of hard to put together because of all the new cards I had to come up with. As for why Michael used a Chronomaly Fusion Monster, it was something I went with because it was different. I had originally thought about it being a Chronomaly Synchro Monster, but having it be a Fusion instead saved me the step of coming up with a Chronomaly Tuner.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	23. Slaying Stardust

**Author's Note:** I had a devil of a time writing the duel for this next chapter, which is why it's only being put up now. Yuma's duels in this story are proving to be some of the hardest duels to write since he and Astral are up against such strong opponents. Anyway, I hope this chapter proves to be worth the wait.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.

* * *

Chapter 23: Slaying Stardust

Despite the horrific ending of Michael's duel with Alnia, the people of Heartland flocked back to the stadium to watch Yuma's duel with Hikari. Kotori and most of the others in Yuma's circle of friends had returned to the skybox, with Stacy staying at the hospital with Kaito and Droite to keep an eye on Michael. Shark had joined Kotori's group up in the skybox, as Cleo had already eliminated him from the tournament. The mood in the stadium was a bit somber, as the cloud of the previous duel seemed to be hanging over everything. Even though the stadium was once again packed, it seemed that the spectators were having a hard time being pumped about the next duel.

"I still can't quite believe that we're having the next duel after everything that just happened." Kotori remarked. "You'd think they'd postpone things until tomorrow out of respect."

"In a way, this duel might be able to help everyone put what just happened in Michael's duel behind them." Shark pointed out. "Doing anything else would be like letting Alnia win."

"Nasch is right." Durbe agreed. "We can't let one bad experience ruin the whole tournament."

"Yeah, but… I'm just not sure if Yuma is up for this right now." Kotori pointed out. "One of his best friends is in the hospital in a coma. How can he think about dueling at a time like this?"

"This is Yuma we're talking about, Kotori." Shark pointed out. "A duel like this is probably just what that doofus needs."

Down on the stadium floor, Yuma walked onto the stage with Astral floating beside him. A determined expression was on Yuma's face. Hikari took her place on the opposite end of the stage.

"Hey Yuma, are you sure you're up for this?" Hikari asked. "I mean I'd totally understand if you weren't, what with what happened to Michael. We don't have to do this if you don't want to."

"Are you asking me to forfeit, Hikari?" Yuma asked.

"No, but… Cleo mentioned the little talk she had with you at the hospital on the way here." Hikari explained. "So if you're not up for this duel…"

"Hikari, Yuma and I would not be standing here right now if we weren't prepared to face you." Astral interrupted. "We want you to come at us with everything you have."

"Well… okay. If you're sure." Hikari replied.

"The next duel shall be between Yuma Tsukumo and Hikari Fudo!" the referee announced. "Let the duel… begin!"

With that, Yuma and Hikari activated their D-Gazers, as did everyone in the audience. All at once the color of the surrounding area took on a slight change.

"I'm up first!" Yuma declared as he drew his first card. "I summon Ganbara Knight in Defense Mode!"

Appearing on Yuma and Astral's side of the battlefield was a knight clad in burgundy and gold armor. The visor of his helmet slightly resembled the visor of helmets worn by football players, and on the sides of his helmet were two right lightning bolt-shaped blades. Both of the knight's arms ended with a large rectangular shield with a green and blue front and gold trim.

"That ends my turn!" Yuma announced.

"That's it?" Hikari asked with a raised eyebrow. "You're not going to set any face-down cards or anything?"

"Nope." Yuma confirmed. "It's your move, Hikari."

"Dammit, Tsukumo!" Cleo cursed down in the dugout. "If you're not going to take this duel seriously than you should've just forfeited instead of wasting our time like this!"

"Don't worry. Yuma's taking this serious." Alit assured her. "Just look at his eyes. Both he and Astral are determined to beat Hikari with everything they've got."

"Hikari, I want you to hit me with your best monster." Yuma told her. "Don't hold anything back."

Hikari sighed. "Okay. If you say so." She drew her next card. "I discard one card from my hand to summon The Tricky!"

Materializing on Hikari's side of the field was a jester-like monster clad completely in yellow and black. Hanging from the clown's back was a black cape with a red underside. A red question mark completely covered the Tricky's face.

"Next I summon Psychic Commander in Attack Mode!" Hikari announced.

Materializing on Hikari's side of the battlefield was a humanoid figure clad in a green army uniform with white gloves riding in a silver futuristic hovercraft with a long cannon barrel on the front. He had a grinning mouth filled with sharp fangs, and on his head was a helmet with a black visor showing four red eyes.

"I tune the level three Psychic Commander into the level five Tricky for a level eight Synchro Summon!" Hikari announced.

Psychic Commander flashed orange before changing into three rings made out of green light. The rings encircled the Tricky and transformed the masked jester into five white stars.

"Clustering hopes will become a new shining star! Become the path its light shines upon!" Hikari chanted. "Synchro Summon! Take flight, Stardust Dragon!"

The stars flashed and became a pillar of light that shot up into the sky. The light faded and Stardust Dragon appeared on the field with a roar, scattering particles of green light everywhere with his magnificent wings.

"Stardust Dragon, take out Ganbara Knight!" Hikari commanded. "Shooting Sonic!"

Stardust Dragon opened his jaws and fired a shimmering beam of light at Yuma's knight. Ganbara Knight was instantly shattered to bits upon being hit.

"That ends my turn." Hikari announced.

At this, Yuma smirked. "Thanks for summoning Stardust Dragon, Hikari. You did just what Astral and I wanted."

"What do you mean?" Hikari asked.

Yuma did a backflip and drew his next card. "I summon Gagaga Magician in Attack Mode!"

Appearing on Yuma's side of the field was a silver-haired wizard clad in red and black. He wore a conical hat that curved forward and a black stocking covered the lower half of his face. On his left foot he wore a red knee-high boot, and on his right he had on a simple brown shoe with a chain coiled around the ankle that went up all the way around his waist up to the back of his head. Attached to the chain was a sort of belt buckle was a kind of gold ornament or charm. His shoulders were covered by pieces of red armor, and around his neck was a tattered red scarf.

"I activate Gagaga Magcian's effect and change his level from four to eight!" Yuma announced. "Next I play the Spell card, Gagaga x Gagaga! When activated, I can summon Gagaga x Gagaga as a monster with the same level as Gagaga Magician's!"

The large Spell card that Yuma played turned into a ball of white light that struck the ground next to Gagaga Magician. Appearing next to the masked wizard was a clone of him with negative coloring.

"Yuma, let's show Hikari what we're truly capable of!" Astral told him.

"You got it! Using both my Gagaga Magicians, I build the overlay network and summon a Rank 8 monster!" Yuma announced. "Come forth! Number 23: Lancelot, Dark Knight of the Underworld!"

A vortex in the form of a purple galaxy appeared in the center of the battlefield and pulled in Yuma's two monsters as balls of blue energy. Rising out of the vortex a few seconds later was a large shield made of an odd white metal. Emblazoned on the front of the shield was the image of a skull with four insect-like legs growing out each side of it like the legs of a spider, and fitted into the skull's eyes were two lavender-colored gems. Hanging down from the left and right corners of the shield were two purple sashes. Orbiting around the shield were two balls of purple light.

The shield began to glow with a blue light and change shape. In moments it had turned into a slender knight clad completely in bone-white armor. Its torso and waist were connected by what looked to be a spinal cord. Around the knight's neck was a long purple scarf that hung down almost to its ankles. Its face had four small round green eyes like the eyes of an insect, and glowing on its torso was the number 23 in blue alien writing. In his right hand, the knight held a simple rapier.

"Hikari. This is the knight that shall slay your dragon!" Astral declared.

"I've never seen Yuma and Astral use that one before." Cathy remarked up in the skybox.

"Astral must not have gotten it at the end of the Number War." Shark assumed. "I've got no clue who the hell had it originally though."

"I think I might know." Vector revealed. "Back when I was causing mischief on Earth after my cover as Rei was blown, this guy gave me a bunch of Numbers that he collected."

"Wait, a guy just gave you a bunch of Numbers?" Rio asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah. I forget what his name was." Vector confirmed. "It started with a K, I think. In any case, I think Number 23 was one of the Numbers he handed over. When I asked how he got them and why he handed them over to me, he just said that he was rooting for my cause and just left."

"That sounds super shady." Cathy told him.

"Yeah, like one of those guys who sell watches on street corners." Anna agreed.

"Maybe, but then I'm pretty shady myself." Vector pointed out with a shrug. "Besides, what does it matter now? Number War's over."

"However Astral ended up with it, that Number looks kinda creepy." Kotori admitted. "But I don't know how Yuma and Astral expect to use it to beat Stardust Dragon. Lancelot only has 2000 ATK."

"I know there a hundred of these Astral World Numbers, but I never expected any of them to look like that one." Hikari remarked down on the stage. "Mind telling me who had that one before you Astral?"

"The memories connected to Lancelot's previous owner are strange and hard for me to read." Astral revealed as he put his hand to his forehead. "But I can say that he seemed to have a very strong will, as well as a cunning mind. Somehow, this Number did not consume him."

"It doesn't matter where Lancelot came from." Yuma interrupted. "What matters now is his effect! As long as Lancelot has at least one overlay unit, he can attack the opponent directly!"

"Say what?" Hikari exclaimed.

"Lancelot, attack Hikari directly!" Yuma commanded. "Phantom Rapier!"

Lancelot raised his sword in salute to Hikari and then suddenly seemed to vanish. A split second later, the undead knight reappeared right in front of the stardust heiress and raised his sword to strike her. Hikari somehow managed to block the thrust of Lancelot's blade with her duel disc, but her life points still dropped to 2000.

"And now I activate Lancelot's other effect!" Yuma announced. "When Lancelot inflicts battle damage, he can destroy one monster my opponent controls!"

"That's a big mistake!" Hikari told him. "I activate Stardust Dragon's effect! When a destruction effect is activated, I can sacrifice Stardust to negate that effect and destroy that card!"

"We knew you would do that, Hikari." Astral told her with a smirk.

"I activate Lancelot's other effect!" Yuma announced. "By detaching one his overlay units, Lancelot can negate the activation of an opponent's card effect!"

One of the purple balls of light orbiting Lancelot entered his rapier, causing it to flash with a purple light. Soon after, the undead knight's eyes flashed green and Stardust Dragon seemed to freeze. The silvery dragon's body started to give off a purple mist-like aura. Lancelot then dashed in and swiftly struck Stardust several times with the point of his rapier, causing glowing red marks to appear all over the dragon's body. When the knight's attack finally ended, Stardust Dragon's body shattered into particles of blue light that scattered away with the breeze. With his job done, Lancelot saluted Hikari with his sword and calmly walked back over to Yuma's side of the field. Both Hikari and Cleo were left stunned by what had just happened, as was much of the audience.

"I don't believe it." Cleo spoke. "So before, Yuma was baiting Hikari with Ganbara Knight, daring her to bring out Stardust Dragon so he could destroy it with that knight."

"And you thought he wasn't taking the duel seriously." Alit reminded her.

"I'll set one card on the field and end my turn!" Yuma announced. "It's your move, Hikari."

Hikari got over her initial shock and smirked. "Okay. Looks like it's on now." She then drew her next card. "I activate the Spell card, Stardust Shimmer! I banish The Tricky and Psychic Commander to summon Stardust Dragon back from the Graveyard!"

Particles of glowing stardust gathered together on Hikari's side of the field and took the form of Stardust Dragon. The silvery dragon roared and glared across the field at Lancelot, as if he was angry that the knight was able to best him. Lancelot seemed to flinch at Stardust Dragon glaring at him and raised his sword in preparation for the dragon's attack.

"I equip Stardust Dragon with the Spell card, Blazer Aura!" Hikari announced. The dragon began to give off a dazzling silver aura. "Once per turn, I can reduce the level of the equipped monster by an amount from one to five, and for each level the equipped monster uses it gains 300 ATK. I reduce Stardust Dragon's level by three to raise his ATK to 3400!"

"Not bad. But you're forgetting that Numbers can only be destroyed by other Numbers." Yuma pointed out.

"Did you really think I'd go into a duel with a Number user without preparing for that?" Hikari asked. "Blazer Aura's other effect is that it negates any effects of the monster Stardust fights during that battle, meaning that Lancelot is going to lose his invincibility to non-Numbers during this next attack."

"It appears that Hikari is truly starting to take this duel seriously." Astral observed.

"Stardust Dragon, take down Lancelot!" Hikari commanded. "Blazing Sonic!"

"I activate my Trap, Half-Unbreak!" Yuma quickly announced. "This card prevents Lancelot from being destroyed by this battle and cuts the damage Astral and I would normally take in half!"

Stardust Dragon fired a beam of silver light from his jaws at Lancelot. With his sword raised, Lancelot endured the attack, but Yuma's life points still took a slight drop to 3300.

"I'll set one card on the field and end my turn." Hikari announced.

Yuma took a big gulp and drew his next card. "Lancelot, attack Hikari directly! Phantom Rapier!"

"I activate my Trap, Scrap-Iron Scarecrow!" Hikari announced. "Your knight's attack is canceled!"

Before Lancelot could flash across to Hikari, a scarecrow made of junk appeared in front of her. Upon seeing the scarecrow, Lancelot lowered his sword.

"After being activated, Scrap-Iron Scarecrow sets itself back on the field." Hikari announced. With that, the scarecrow vanished.

"Yuma! Why did you not activate Lancelot's effect to negate Scrap-Iron Scarecrow?" Astral asked. "If you had, we could've ended this duel!"

"Wha? Oh crap!" Yuma exclaimed. "I got so mixed up when Hikari powered up Stardust Dragon like that I thought Lancelot's effect was a destruction effect."

"I see. And in that instant, Hikari would've used Stardust Dragon's effect to destroy Lancelot and leave us defenseless." Astral realized.

"I'm sorry, Astral." Yuma told him. "Looks like I really screwed up."

"Do not worry, Yuma. It's understandable that you might be intimidated by Hikari." Astral assured him. "We are up against the daughter of a legendary duelist, after all."

"Hey Yuma. Astral. I think we're pretty much done trying each other out." Hikari told them. "Don't you?"

After a moment, Yuma managed to regain his composure. "Okay Hikari. Looks like the real duel starts now."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I ended up doing a little bit of foreshadowing in this chapter about a future story in this series of ZEXAL fanfics when I revealed how Vector got a hold of Number 23. If any of you reading are familiar with the ZEXAL manga, you know who originally owned Number 23. Anyway, Yuma screwing up towards the end of this chapter is actually the result of me kind of screwing up when I wrote the outline for this duel. I remembered Number 23's effect wrongly when I got to that part of the duel, and by the time I realized my error it was a little late to change thing. So I decided to chalk it up to Yuma making it a mistake because he lost his cool. Sorry I didn't do a better job there.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	24. Evolving Battle

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.

* * *

Chapter 24: Evolving Battle

"I end my turn." Yuma announced. "It's your move, Hikari. Show me and Astral what you can really do."

Hikari drew her next card. "I summon Junk Blader in Attack Mode!" The stardust heiress's purple swordsman appeared on the battlefield. "Next I play the Spell card, Emergency Teleport and summon Krebons!" With a flash of yellow light, Hikari's jester-like Tuner appeared next to Junk Blader. "Now I tune the level two Krebons into the level four Junk Blader for a level six Synchro Summon!"

Krebons flashed orange and became two rings made of green light. The rings encircled Junk Blader and transformed him into four white stars.

"Clustering stars come together to signal the arrival of an unstoppable fighter! Create the path its light shines upon!" Hikari chanted. "Synchro Summon! Rise up! Mighty Warrior!"

The stars flashed and became a pillar of white light that shot into the sky. The light quickly faded to reveal Hikari's cybernetic warrior.

"I activate the effect of Blazer Aura and reduce Stardust Dragon's level by one to increase his ATK to 3700!" Hikari announced.

The silvery aura that Stardust Dragon was giving off began to glow brighter. The dragon's eyes flashed blue as it roared at Lancelot.

"Why did Hikari only drop Stardust Dragon's level by one?" Yuma asked. "If she had dropped it by four, he'd be a lot more powerful."

"I do not think that powering up Stardust Dragon's attack is Hikari's primary goal." Astral told him. "Yuma, if we can survive this attack, we must take down Mighty Warrior at our first opportunity."

"If you say so." Yuma replied.

"Stardust, take down Lancelot!" Hikari ordered. "Blazing Sonic!"

Stardust Dragon opened his jaws and sent forth a powerful blast of silvery light. Lancelot was hit in the chest and his body shattered into particles of light. Yuma's life points took a drop to 1600.

"Mighty Warrior! Attack Yuma directly!" Hikari commanded. "Mighty Knuckle!"

"Not so fast, Hikari!" Yuma spoke as Mighty Warrior dashed across the stage. "Since I'm being attacked directly, I summon Gagaga Guardna in Defense Mode!"

Just as Mighty Warrior was about to hit Yuma with his mechanical fist a humanoid figure suddenly appeared between him and his target. He was clad in a long black coat over grey chest armor, along with black gloves and long black jeans. An orange bandanna covered the lower half of his face, and atop his head was a black and grey helmet with goggles on it. In his left hand, the warrior carried a large black and orange shield with pointed yellow stripes on the lower half.

"Since you can prevent Gagaga Guardna from being destroyed in battle, it'd be kinda pointless to try attacking you now." Hikari realized. "I'll just end my turn."

Yuma drew his next card. "First I activate Mystical Space Typhoon and destroy Scrap-Iron Scarecrow!"

A twister of wind picked up on Hikari's side of the field around her large set Trap card and caused it to shatter to bits.

"Next I activate Monster Reborn and summon Gagaga Magician back from the Graveyard!" Yuma continued. With a flash of white light, Yuma's silver-haired magician reappeared on the battlefield. "Using the level four Gagaga Magician and Gagaga Guardna, I build the overlay network and Xyz Summon Number 39: Utopia!"

A vortex in the form of a galaxy appeared in the middle of the battlefield and pulled in Yuma's two monsters as balls of yellow energy. Seconds later, a large white and gold sword with two balls of gold light orbiting around it rose from the center of the vortex and transformed into Yuma and Astral's ace monster.

"I summon Goblindberg in Attack Mode!" Yuma announced. "And when Goblindberg is summoned, I can summon another level four monster from my hand! So I also summon Gogogo Golem!"

Flying down from above in a small red and yellow prop plane piloted by a green goblin wearing a brown aviator jacket along with a red helmet with goggles and two small yellow horns sticking out the top. Dangling from below the plane by metal cables was a large hexagonal metal box. The box dropped to the ground with a thud and fell apart to reveal Yuma's blue golem inside. The goblin pilot then landed on the ground next to the golem.

"Using the level four Gogogo Golem and Goblindberg, I build the overlay network and Xyz Summon Number 52: Diamond Crab King!" Yuma announced.

Another galaxy-like vortex appeared in the center of the battlefield and pulled in the two monsters Yuma selected as balls of yellow energy. Moments later, a blue crystal with two balls of blue energy orbiting around it rose out of the center and transformed into Yuma's giant blue crab.

"I activate Diamond Crab King's effect!" Yuma announced. "By detaching one of his overlay units, Diamond Crab King's ATK and DEF are switched until the end of the turn!"

One of the balls of light orbiting the crab entered the giant crystal growing out of his back. Soon after, the color of the crab's eyes began to glow and his body changed from blue to red.

"Diamond Crab King, attack Mighty Warrior!" Yuma commanded. "Diamond Bubble!"

The crab fired a barrage of glowing bubbles across the battlefield at Mighty Warrior. The cybernetic fighter was hit in the chest by the attack and his body shattered into particles of light. Hikari's life points dropped to 1200.

"Diamond Crab King switches to Defense Mode at the end of the Battle Phase." Yuma announced. "I'll set one card on the field and end my turn."

As soon as Yuma's turn ended, Diamond Crab King's eyes stopped glowing and his body changed back from red to blue.

"Nicely done, Yuma." Astral praised.

"Thanks, but what was the point of taking down Mighty Warrior?" Yuma asked.

"Think about it, Yuma. What might the point be of Hikari reducing the level of Stardust Dragon?" Astral asked.

"The only reason I could think if would be if she… wait! Are you saying that Hikari was planning to use Stardust Dragon to Synchro Summon a more powerful monster?" Yuma realized.

"Precisely. And if I'm right, Mighty Warrior was an important key to that summoning." Astral answered. "Hopefully that by defeating that monster, we've just derailed Hikari's strategy."

Hikari calmly drew her next card. "I summon Mono Synchron in Attack Mode!"

Appearing on the battlefield was a small green and yellow robot. On the end of each of its arms in place of a hand was a large red stamp of the number one.

"Since I now control a Tuner monster, I can summon Quillbolt Hedgehog back from the Graveyard!" Hikari continued.

A dog-sized creature resembling a hamster appeared on the stage next to Mono Synchron. It's back was covered with large grey metal bolts.

"Wait. When was Quillbolt Hedgehog ever in the Graveyard?" Yuma asked.

"She must have discarded it when she summoned The Tricky earlier in the duel." Astral deduced.

"When I perform a Synchro Summon using Mono Synchron as the Tuner, the other monster used as material becomes a level one." Hikari announced. "I tune the level one Mono Synchron into the now level one Quillbolt Hedgehog for a level two Synchro Summon!"

Mono Synchron fired a beam of red light from one of the stamps on his arms, causing a red number one to appear on the creature's cheek. The green and yellow robot changed into a ring of green light that encircled Quillbolt Hedgehog, transforming it into a single white star.

"Clustering wishes will call out a new speed's horizon! Become the path its light shines upon!" Hikari chanted. "Synchro Summon! The power of hope, Synchro Tuner, Formula Synchron!"

The white star flashed and became a horizontal beam of white light. The light quickly faded to reveal a small robot that resembled a green, white and red racecar. It had blue and white arms with black hands extending from its back wheels, and a pair of blue and white legs on its underside. The head inside the car's cockpit wore a blue helmet.

"Because I just summoned Formula Synchron, I get to draw a card!" Hikari announced. After drawing her new card, she smirked. "I activate the card I just drew, Monster Reborn and summon Mighty Warrrior back from the Graveyard!"

Hikari's cybernetic warrior reappeared on the field with a flash of white light.

"It appears we were unsuccessful in disrupting Hikari's strategy." Astral observed.

"Now to show you what I've really got." Hikari declared. "I tune the level two Formula Synchron into the level four Stardust Dragon and the level six Mighty Warrior for a level twelve Synchro Summon!"

Hikari closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Suddenly the wind began to swirl around her feet.

"O stars who color the ancient skies! Become the divine rain and purify the world!" Hikari began to chant. "Delta Accel!"

Suddenly Hikari's three monsters took off in a streak of pinkish light that flew out of the stadium. A split second later, the same light came back from behind Hikari and stopped with a dazzling explosion. The light faded, and hovering over the field was a sleeker version of Hikari's Shooting Star Dragon. He had ten wings on his back and a blue gem embedded in his forehead. Similar gems adorned the dragon's chest and the front of his knees. The entire audience was left in awe of the dragon's appearance.

"Be born, Stardust Sfir Spark Dragon!" Hikari called.

"That is one impressive-looking dragon." Kaito remarked up in the skybox. "I had no idea she had anything like that in her deck."

"Indeed. Such a dragon looks like it would make a worth opponent for my Tachyon." Mizael admitted.

"You and Astral should feel honored, Yuma." Hikari told him. "I don't use Delta Accel like this very often. In fact my dad was never able to pull a Synchro Summon like this off."

"We are honored Hikari. It means that you're taking Astral and me seriously." Yuma replied.

"However, the fact that you summoned this dragon does not mean your victory is assured." Astral added. "Yuma and I can still use Utopia's effect to block your attack."

"Actually you can't, since one per turn I can use Stardust Sfir's effect to negate the effect of a monster and destroy it." Hikari revealed. "But I won't even have to do that in this case, since now I activate another effect of Blazer Aura from the Graveyard! When Blazer Aura is in the Graveyard, I can equip it to a Dragon-type Synchro Monster I control!"

With that, Stardust Sfir's eyed began to glow blue and his body gave off a dazzling silvery aura.

"This means her dragon can destroy our Numbers in battle!" Yuma realized.

"I now activate Blazer Aura's main effect and reduce his level by five to raise his ATK from 4000 to 5500!" Hikari announced. The dragon roared and the aura his body was giving off began to shine even brighter. "Stardust, attack Utopia! Divine Blazing Light!"

"I activate my Trap! Moon Barrier!" Yuma quickly announced. "By detaching one of Utopia's overlay units, I can negate Stardust Sfir's attack!"

Stardust Sfir opened his mouth and fired a dazzling beam of light across the field towards Utopia. Before the beam could strike though, one of the balls of light orbiting around the armored warrior vanished and one of his wings unfolded around him into a shield that blocked the dragon's attack.

"You activated Utopia's effect without actually activating it." Hikari observed. "Nice one."

"Thanks." Yuma responded. "You almost had me there."

"Well, you may have survived that attack, but this is far from over." Hikari told him. "I'll end my turn there."

"Okay Astral, how do we take down Hikari's dragon?" Yuma asked.

"We have most of what we need on the field, but we're going to need a bit more." Astral answered. "If we're going to win this duel, you and I must join together."

"You mean…?" Yuma began to ask.

"Hikari is giving us everything she has. I suggest we do the same." Astral replied.

"Okay then. Let's do it!" Yuma decided.

Suddenly Yuma turned into a ball of red light that shot into the air while Astral turned into a ball of blue light that followed him close behind. The two lights shot away from each other in opposite directions only to come back around in a circle and collide into each other an explode. The smoke soon cleared to reveal Yuma in a new form. His hair had become gold and red and had taken on the shape of a flame. Much of his body had become covered in ornate gold and white armor that shinned with a brilliant light, and on his back was a pair of white and gold metal wings similar to Utopia's. The audience was dazzled by this transformation. Even the referee's jaw had dropped at this display.

"Wow! You two really are going all out." Hikari observed. "But aren't you concerned about using this ZEXAL power of yours in public like this?"

"Nah. We used it before when we dueled Mr. Arclight during the World Duel Carnival, and nobody really asked me about how I did it." Yuma answered. "The important thing you need to know right now though Hikari is that Astral and I aren't going to be holding anything back anymore."

"Then show me what you got." Hikari dared.

"You asked for it!" Yuma responded as he drew his next card. The card he pulled from the deck gave off a flash of gold light. "Because I have two Number monsters with the same Rank and overlay units, I can overlay them to summon a new monster!"

"An Xyz Monster that uses Numbers as material?" Hikari asked with a raised eyebrow.

"That's right!" Yuma confirmed. "Using the Rank four Utopia and Diamond Crab King, I build the overlay network and Xyz Summon the Emperor of Numbers! Come forth! Number 93: Utopia Kaiser!"

A large vortex in the form of a golden galaxy appeared in the center of the field and pulled in the two Xyz Monsters as balls of yellow energy, the balls of light still orbiting around them following close behind. Rising out of the vortex's center only moments later was a massive ornate black and silver sword with four balls of golden light orbiting around it. The sword unfolded and changed shape, taking on a form similar to Utopia's. His body was covered in black and silver armor, along with a long black coat and a black and blue breechcloth that hung down from the front of his waist. On his back was a white cape, along with four ornate gold blades that were almost as large as his body raised like two pairs of wings. Covering the warrior's shoulders were two round pieces of shield-like silver armor with gold trim. On the piece of armor covering his left shoulder was the number 93 in red alien writing.

"I didn't know there was another Number that was also a Utopia monster." Kotori spoke up in the skybox.

"It may be a Rank twelve, but it still has the same ATK as the original Utopia." Kaito pointed out.

"Yeah. But it must have a killer effect if it took two Numbers to summon it." Gilag pointed out.

"Maybe it does, but it doesn't really matter since Hikari can just use Stardust Sfir to negate that effect." Shark reminded them. "I don't see how Yuma and Astral expect to win this."

"I activate the Spell card, Dazzling Number!" Yuma announced.

Utopia Kaiser's body suddenly gave off a dazzling flash of gold light. Stardust Sfir growled and shook his head as if blinded by the flash.

"Until the end of this turn, Dazzling Number prevents you from activating any monster effects in response to the effect of a Number." Yuma continued. "Which means I can now activate Utopia Kaiser's effect without worrying about it being negated by Stardust Sfir! With Utopia Kaiser's power, I summon four Number monsters with different Ranks from my Extra Deck up to the number of overlay units still attached to him! I call forth Number 17: Leviathan Dragon, Number 50: Blackship of Corn, Number 22: Zombiestein, and Number 6: Chronomaly Atlandis!"

Utopia Kaiser's body gave off a golden aura that shot a beam of gold light into the air. Four balls of light came down from the sky and struck the stage, becoming four of the sealed objects that the Numbers appeared as when first summoned. The first was the scaly blue relic that changed into Leviathan Dragon. The second was an object that appeared to be wooded carving of a corncob that was stained black. The wooded cob grew and changed shape, becoming an old pirate ship with a black underside that retained the original object's corncob characteristics. Decorating the front of the ships yellowed sail was the number 50 written in red alien writing. The third object was a large heart that looked like it was stitched together from brown pieces of tissue.

The heart began to beat and thick black tendrils almost like thread burst out of it, wrapping around the heart and taking on a humanoid shape. The thread flashed red and became a large muscular giant with brown flesh that looked like it had been stitched together. It had on long black pants with a decorative tan and green cloth hanging down around his waist. Around the giant's head was a hood made from tattered black cloth that completely hid his face except for a single glowing yellow eye. Written on the cloth of the hood in red alien writing was the number 22.

The final object that had been summoned by Utopia Kaiser was a floating brown stone that looked like the top of some kind of tower. The bottom of the stone expanded and changed shape, and standing behind Yuma and his other four monsters in a matter of seconds was a giant golem that looked like it had been made of a mountain. Its arms and legs glowed orange with lava, and its face was a round opening glowing with the same magma. The giant's stomach had an opening in it that looked as if it was made to house some sort of building. Around its chest was a smooth grey stone ring with the number 06 on the front in magenta alien writing. As soon as the four Numbers had finished forming, one of the balls of light orbiting Utopia Kaiser vanished. The audience was again left in awe by the appearance of the four new monsters.

"Each of the monsters summoned by Utopia Kaiser's effect have their effects negated." Yuma continued. "Not only that, Utopia Kaiser loses one of his overlay units, and any battle damage my monsters cause for the rest of this turn is cut in half."

"Pretty impressive, but what was the point?" Hikari asked. "None of your monsters have enough ATK to take down Stardust Sfir."

"From my hand, I equip Utopia Kaiser with the monster, ZW – Griffin Mantel!" Yuma announced.

Appearing in the air above Utopia Kaiser was a mechanical griffin made of black and gold armor. Its blade-like wings were made of a silvery metal. The griffin turned into gold light and struck Utopia Kaiser. When the light faded, the Number Emperor's chest had become covered by a piece of gold and black armor that looked like the griffin's eagle-like face. His cape had become covered in gold feathers, and the griffin's original silver wings had become attached to his gold blades.

"I activate Griffin Mantel's effect!" Yuma announced. "By detaching Utopia Kaiser's remaining overlay units, he gains the combined ATK of all other Number monsters on the field for the rest of the turn! Which means his ATK will become 15900!"

The three balls of gold light orbiting around Utopia Kaiser entered the eyes of the griffin face covering his chest. All five of the Number monsters then began to give off a golden aura.

"This duel ends now!" Yuma declared. "Utopia, attack Stardust Sfir! Imperial Number Strike!"

Utopia Kaiser fired a massive beam of gold light at Hikari's dragon. Stardust Sfir was completely vaporized by the blast and Hikari's life points dropped to zero. With the duel over, the five Number monsters vanished and Yuma and Astral split back apart into their original forms.

"And the winner of the duel is… Yuma Tsukumo!" the referee declared, causing the audience to cheer.

Down in the dugout, Alit noticed a scowl on Cleo's face. "You don't look too thrilled about Yuma winning."

"This tournament was supposed to end with me dueling Hikari." Cleo told him. "Oh well. I'll just have to crush Tsukumo in the finals as revenge."

Meanwhile in the rival dugout, a grin had formed on Alnia's face. "This outcome works just perfectly for us. Now we can take the Numeron Code from Tsukumo and the Envoy without any more fuss."

"They certainly had to go all out to beat that Signer girl though." Samantha remarked. "If they hadn't used that ZEXAL power of theirs, they probably would've lost."

"That doesn't really matter." Alnia told her. "In the end, this tournament is a war for Number users. Those Signer bitches should just stay out of it."

Back up on the stage, Hikari walked up to Yuma and Astral. "That was a fun duel. You guys probably could've given my dad a hard time."

"Thanks." Yuma replied. "This was one of the best duels I've had in the whole tournament."

"The next duel will be between Samantha Warren and Alit!" the referee announced. "The duel will begin in five minutes!"

"Well, looks like the fun might be over." Hikari darkly remarked.

"Do not be too sure about that, Hikari." Astral told her. "Alit is a powerful duelist, and he's armed with a Shining Number. He may just be able to defeat Mitaka."

"Well Mitaka, looks like you're up." Alnia told Samantha. "You better not screw up the way Anitak did."

"Don't worry Alnia. I've got this." Samantha assured her. "I'm going to make that little son of a bitch pay for taking away Ani from us."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I hope nobody minds that I had Hikari use Stardust Sfir Spark Dragon in this duel. The actual card doesn't specify having to Stardust Spark Dragon as material, and I didn't want to try making up another evolved form.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	25. Mitaka's Revenge

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.

* * *

Chapter 25: Mitaka's Revenge

The break after Yuma's duel with Hikari had passed by very quickly, and the audience was very eager for the next duel to get underway. It seemed that the brutal ending to Michael's duel with Alnia had been all but forgotten. Down in the dugout, Alit did a final check of his deck to make sure that his deck was ready to face Samantha. After all, Astral reviving Chitose depended heavily on defeating the other two Death Queens. Alit had to be sure he could defeat their second member. At last, the referee called Alit and Samantha onto the stage. When Alit made it onstage, Samantha was giving him a calm yet icy glare from the other end.

"I'm going to make you pay for taking Ani away from us." Samantha declared.

"I never wanted my duel with Chitose to turn out that way." Alit told her. "But there's a way to bring her back. And to do it, I have to take you and Alnia down!"

"As if I'll even let you near Alnia!" Samantha told him.

"Let the duel… begin!" the referee announced.

With that, Alit activated his D-Gazer and duel disk. At the same time, Samantha's left eye turned green and her left arm changed to its Barian form, causing her golden blade-like duel disk to appear. Once all the audience members activated their D-Gazers, the color of the surrounding area changed.

"I'll start this off!" Alit declared as he drew his first card. "I summon Battlin' Boxer Veil in Defense Mode!" The masked boxer appeared in a kneeling position with the two halves of his shield joined together. "Then I'll set one card on the field and end my turn."

Samantha drew her first card. "I summon Dark Elf in Attack Mode!"

Appearing on the redhead's side of the field was an elf woman with dark skin and long dark-purple hair. She had on teal-colored robes that showed off her bare shoulders and a sort of gold crown atop her head.

"Dark Elf? I didn't know anyone actually played that card." Shark spoke with a raised eyebrow up in the skybox. "I mean it has good ATK for a level four monster, but it costs a thousand life points each time just to attack with it."

"Not when Mitaka uses her." Kotori told him. "I know exactly what kind of combo she's going for. It's the one she used in our very first duel."

"I activate the Spell card, Forbidden Chalice!" Samantha announced. "This cursed cup raises my Dark Elf's ATK by 400 until the end of the turn at the cost of her losing her effect!"

A shining silver chalice appeared in Dark Elf's right hand. The elf woman took a sip from the liquid inside and suddenly convulsed and clutched her throat, almost as if she were choking from drinking poison. At the same time, the chalice she was holding dropped from her hand to the ground, causing it to shatter into bits of light. After a moment though, Dark Elf seemed to stop chocking and her body began to glow with a purple aura.

"I get it. This way you can attack with Dark Elf without having to pay all those life points." Alit realized. "Not only that, she gains a little extra ATK. Not bad. Of course it's not quite as good as something Chitose would've done."

"Don't you dare speak Ani's name in front of me!" Samantha angrily told him. "Dark Elf! Destory that stupid boxer monster of his! Enchanting Black Magic!"

Dark Elf thrust her right hand forward and fired a barrage of black lightning bolts from her palm. The attack struck Battlin' Boxer Veil and caused the masked fighter to shatter into bits of light.

"I'll set three cards on the field and end my turn!" Samantha announced.

Alit drew his next card. "I summon Battlin' Boxer Headgeared in Attack Mode!" The grey almost stone-like boxer appeared on Alit's side of the field. "Next I activate the Trap card, Copy Knight! When I've summoned a Warrior-type monster, Copy Knight becomes a copy of that monster!"

The large Trap card that Alit had previously set turned into a white knight. The knight walked up next to Headgeared and raised his sword. After momentarily being bathed in a pillar of white light, the knight transformed into an exactly duplicate of Alit's boxer.

"I overlay the level four Headgeared and Copy Knight to Xyz Summon Battlin' Boxer Lunar Tekko!" Alit announced.

A blue vortex appeared in the center of the battlefield and pulled in Alit's two monsters as balls of purple energy. Rising out of the vortex a moment later was a lean but muscular warrior with bronze skin. A silver helmet like that worn by a medieval knight covered his head and obscured his face. His upper torso was covered in a piece of silver armor with the symbol of the moon on the chest, and on his back were four silver blades shaped like a crescent moon. Pieces of silver armor covered his waist, and on each hand was a blade-like weapon similar to brass knuckles. Orbiting around the new boxer were two balls of blue light.

"Unlike Solar Tekko, Lunar Tekko gains 200 ATK for each Spell and Trap card my opponent has on the field." Alit continued. "And since you have three out right now, his ATK goes up from 2500 to 3100!"

"Am I supposed to be impressed?" Samantha asked indifferently.

"You should be. But then I don't really care what you think." Alit responded. "Lunar Tekko, attack Dark Elf! Diana Knuckle!"

Lunar Tekko charged across the field and delivered a punch to Dark Elf's chest. Upon being hit, the elf woman shattered into bits of gold light. Samantha's life points dropped from 4000 to 2500.

"I activate Lunar Tekko's effect!" Alit announced. "When he destroys a monster that was normal summoned like Dark Elf, I can detach one of his overlay units so he can attack again! Lunar Tekko, attack Mitaka directly!"

One of the balls of light orbiting Lunar Tekko entered the moon symbol adorning his chest. The armored boxer began to charge at Samantha with his fist raised, but before be could strike three pillars of red flame appeared in front of the redhead. The flames eventually died down to reveal three large effigies made out of burning straw. The effigies all had a human shape and faces like those of a jack-o-lantern, and each one was twice the size of Lunar Tekko.

"What just happened?" a surprised Ali asked.

"What happened is that I summoned my Trap monsters, Wicker Idol." Samantha explained. "When they're activated, they each become a level five monster with 2500 DEF."

"Yeah? Well your three Idols are still Traps, which means Lunar Tekko's ATK is still stronger than their DEF." Alit pointed out.

"True, but while each Wicker Idol is on the field, special summoned monsters except for Spellcasters can't attack." Samantha revealed. "Which means your muscle-headed boxer's attack stops here."

"In that case, I guess I'll set one card on the field and end my turn." Alit announced.

"This is a trouble development." Astral remarked down in the dugout. "Now Mitaka has everything she needs to summon her Number."

"Yeah, but look at Alit." Yuma pointed out, referring to the confident smirk on the dark-haired duelist's face. "It looks like he has some kind of plan."

"That dolt is being overconfident." Mizael spoke up in the skybox. "He thinks that just because he can call forth a Shining Number, he can easily defeat Mitaka just as he defeated Anitak. Sure that witch must see his plan coming."

Samantha drew her next card. As she pulled it, the card seemed to give off a flash of red light. "Using my three level five Wicker Idols, I build the overlay network and Xyz Summon my ultimate monster! Arise, Number 665: Witch Queen Agatha!"

A red galaxy-like vortex appeared in the center of the battlefield and pulled in Samantha's three monsters as balls of orange energy. Rising out of the field moments later was a round object with three fireballs orbiting around it that quickly transformed into Samantha's masked witch.

 _'Go ahead. Summon that Number of yours,'_ Alit thought to himself. _'Once you destroy Lunar Tekko, I can use his effect to summon three new Battlin' Boxers from my deck. And in the worst-case scenario, I can use the Wonder Xyz Trap that I just set to summon Star Cestus during your turn. Then on my turn I can bring out my Shining Number and end this duel.'_

"I activate the Spell card, Rank-Up-Magic – The Devil's Triad!" Samantha announced. "With Devil's Triad, I use Witch Queen Agatha to open the gates of the underworld and rebuild the overlay network to summon a monster one rank higher! Arise! Number C665: Witch Goddess Agatha!"

A pillar of crimson light shot up from the ground around Agatha and a terrifying shriek could be heard from within. After a moment the light faded to reveal Agatha in a new form. Her dress and hat had become a fiery shade of red and her once green skin had become a very pale white. The mask that had been covering her face had vanished, showing that while the right side of her face was that of a beautiful woman, the left side had scars left from when she had been badly burned. Her eyes were yellow and their pupils were silted like the eyes of a cat. Her hair had become red curls that cascaded half way down her back, and on her back had appeared a large pair of black-feathered wings. Orbiting around the witch were four balls of blazing red fire.

"I activate Witch Goddess Agatha's effect!" Samantha announced. "By detaching one of her overlay units, I can destroy an effect monster my opponent controls and deal 400 points of damage times that monster's level or rank!"

One of the fireballs orbiting Agatha entered her left eye. A fireball appeared in the witch's right hand and she threw it across the field at Lunar Tekko. The armored boxer was completely set ablaze.

Samantha began to cackle madly. "That's right! Burn! Burn for your crimes of magic as I once did!"

In a few more moments, Lunar Tekko exploded and Alit was nearly knocked to the ground. His life points had dropped to 2400.

"When Agatha destroys a monster using her effect, she gains half the ATK of the destroyed monster until the end of the turn." Samantha continued. "Which means her ATK goes up from 4000 to 5250."

"Maybe, but now I activate Lunar Tekko's effect!" Alit announced. "When Lunar Tekko is destroyed, I can summon three level four Battlin' Boxer monsters from my deck!"

"Actually, you can't." Samantha told him. "As long as Witch Goddess Agatha is on the field, the only monsters that can be special summoned are Spellcaster-type monsters. And since all those muscle-headed monsters of yours are Warriors, those monsters you were planning to bring out are stuck in your deck."

"Oh crap!" Alit cursed.

"This ends now!" Samantha declared. "Agatha, attack him directly! Vengeful Firestorm!"

Agatha raised her hands forward and let loose a wave of crimson flames across the field at Alit. Alit was knocked off the stage by the flaming tidal wave and onto his back. His life points dropped to zero after being hit. With the duel over, Agatha vanished from the stage and the color of the surrounding area returned to normal. There was a hush over the stadium like the one that occurred when Alnia defeated Michael. Down on the stadium floor, Yuma and the others ran over to Alit's side as the dark-haired duelist got back to his feet.

"Alit! You okay?" a concerned Yuma asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Alit answered with a scowl. "Dammit! Just when I thought we were going to get one step closer to bringing back Chitose!"

"Don't worry, Alit. Astral and I will get her back." Yuma assured him. "You'll see."

"Um… and the winner of the duel is, Samantha Warren!" the referee announced. Upon this proclamation there was a reluctant cheer from the audience. "This concludes the second day of the Millennium Tournament! Tomorrow we will conduct the semifinal and final rounds! The first duel of the semifinals will be between Alnia and Cleo Atlas!"

"Oh Yuma darling!" Samantha called up from the stage. "Looks like you and I will be facing each other in the next round. I'm gonna make sure to show you a good time."

Yuma took a big gulp. "Why do I suddenly have a very bad feeling about the next duel?"

"I suggest you go with the feeling, Yuma." Astral told him.

After giving Yuma a seductive wink and blowing him a kiss, Samantha walked off the stage. With the quarterfinals over the stadium began to empty. Samantha joined Alnia down in the other dugout.

"You did pretty well out there." Alnia praised.

"Thanks." Samantha replied. "It would've been better if I had killed that son of a bitch, Alit, but I'll take what I can get. I better make a few little changes to my deck before my duel with Yuma tomorrow. Before I'm done with him, he'll regret choosing birdie-girl over me."

"Now that'll be a show." Alnia declared.

"What about you? Are you going to be making any changes to your deck for your duel with the other Signer?" Samantha asked.

"Nah. Taking Atlas on will be a challenge, but I can cream her all the same." Alnia answered. "If that Signer bitch thinks she can beat me, she's got another thing coming."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Apologies for yet another fairly short chapter. Half the time the duels don't take as long as I think they'll be in the beginning. Anyway, we're getting a little closer to the end of this tournament. There are only three duels left, so stay tuned. Rest assured that these duels will take longer than just three chapters to tell.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	26. The Tablet of Memories

**Author's Note:** Sorry to everyone for not updating in weeks. I've been a little bit distracted by life, as of late. Plus I had a few bouts with insomnia during a couple nights last week, and it's kind of hard to do any major attempts at writing when you haven't had enough sleep the night before. Anyway, I hope this chapter is worth the wait.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.

* * *

Chapter 26: The Tablet of Memories

The stadium had quickly emptied after Alit's duel with Samantha had ended. Many of Yuma's friends had gone home as well, but Yuma and Astral had remained behind. Once the two had said their goodbyes to everyone, Yuma and Astral headed for the hall where the Tablet of Memories was being displayed. As soon as they were sure that the stadium was totally empty, Astral and Yuma approached the tablet. It was the first time that Yuma had taken a close look at the ancient slab. Seeing a depiction of what was probably one of the very first duels in history filled him with a sense of awe. A part of him wondered if the pharaoh depicted on the tablet and the priest he dueled had any idea at the time that the game they were playing would continue on for thousands of years.

"Hey Astral. This is a cool tablet and everything, but why'd you say we needed to take a look at it?" Yuma asked.

"This tablet is not only tied to the game of Duel Monsters, but is also tied to the thing that the Death Queens are after." Astral answered. "The demon they call Zorc Necrophades."

"And how is the tablet going to help us find out about that?" Yuma asked as he crossed his arms.

"I can sense a sort of power coming from this tablet." Astral explained. "If I can somehow tap into that power, perhaps it can give us some of the answers that we seek."

With that, Astral floated up to the top of the tablet. When he came close, the eye of the Millennium Puzzle carved into the stone began to give off a feint gold light. The energy being put his hand over the eye, and as soon as he did his entire body gave off a dazzling gold flash. At the same time, the gem in the Emperor's Key that Yuma wore around his neck began to shine with a golden light as well. Suddenly it seemed to Yuma as though he was being pulled up through a tunnel of light.

* * *

 _When the light cleared, Yuma and Astral found that they were standing in the middle of some kind of alley. It was night, and before the duo could fully take in the surroundings, they suddenly heard the sound of screaming coming from beyond the alley. Yuma quickly exited the space between the two buildings with Astral close behind, only to come upon a horrible sight. They were in a small village of sundried brick, and all around there were ancient Egyptian soldiers killing every person that they came across. Men, women, children, young and old alike were all being stabbed and cut by the swords that the soldiers carried._

 _"What… what is all this?" a horrified Yuma asked._

 _"I believe we are seeing… the massacre of Kul Elna." Astral answered, trying hard to maintain his composure. "The village that Alnia told us about."_

 _Yuma heard footsteps coming from back down the alley. He quickly ran to go investigate, for no other reason than to get away from the spectacle of death he had just witnessed. At the other end of they alley, Yuma and Astral found a young woman and a little boy, both with long white hair. Yuma instantly recognized the young woman as Alnia._

 _After looking around to make sure they weren't followed, Alnia turned around and kneeled closer to the little boy. "I think we're safe. None of the soldiers saw us leaving the house."_

 _"What do we do now, sister?" the little boy asked._

 _"You go and hide." Alnia told him. "I'm going to head back to see if mother and father have survived. Just stay where you are until I come find you."_

 _"But sister…" the little boy tried to argue._

 _"Do as I say, Bakura!" Alnia ordered._

 _"Well… okay." Bakura finally agreed as tears came to his eyes. "Just come back and find me soon."_

 _"I will, little brother." Alnia assured him as she pulled him into a hug. "Be safe, little one."_

 _As Alnia and Bakura parted ways, the entire area became washed out in a golden light. When the light faded, Yuma and Astral found that they were in some sort of underground chamber. Before them was some sort of round metal object with molten gold being poured into the center. Four ceremonial torches had been placed around the iron mold. Five men in white robes stood in front of the metal object as the gold poured in. At the very front was a man with a dark beard who appeared to be in his forties._

 _"It shouldn't be long now." The bearded man told his companions. "Very soon when the gold hardens, the Millennium Items will be born."_

 _"Are you certain that this was the best course of action, Lord Akhenaden?" one of the other robed men asked him._

 _"These treasures are the only things that will ensure the future of the kingdom." Akhenaden answered._

 _"Maybe so. Yet the cost of forging these treasures may have been too great." Another of the robed men interjected. "Think of all the blood that has been spilled this night."_

 _"It has all been for the greater good." Akhenaden calmly responded. "The lives of this miserable village were a small price to pay for the lives of the entire kingdom. In the end, the needs of the many will always outweigh the needs of the few. I need not remind you all that if we do not come back with the Millennium Items, those marauders will slaughter all of Egypt."_

 _"I for one am not shedding any tears for this rat hole of a village." A third robed man interjected. "This was the Village of Thieves after all. In the end, they all got what they deserved."_

 _"But… to kill even the women and children?" the second robed man asked._

 _"It was the only way." Akhenaden told him. "The ritual required ninety-nine human lives. We could afford to spare no one."_

 _"But… will the pharaoh even approve of this?" the final of the robed men asked. "He has never approved of this sort of cruelty."_

 _"The pharaoh does not need to know anything about what we did here." Akhenaden told him. "All he needs to know is that we have created the keys to saving the kingdom."_

 _"Hey Astral. Alnia said that she blamed Pharaoh Atem for the creation of these Millennium Items, but it sounds like he didn't know anything about it." Yuma observed._

 _"Indeed." Astral agreed. "It seems that this Akhenaden acted on his own. Alnia's anger may be misplaced."_

 _After a few moments, the gold stopped pouring into its iron cast. Soon after, the metal lid was lifted, and beneath it was the stone tablet with the seven Millennium Items fitted into it._

 _"It is done." Akhenaden told his followers. "We shall never speak of what happened here this night ever again."_

 _Another flash of golden light washed out the entire chamber. When it cleared, Yuma and Astral were standing on a raised platform in the middle of what looked like a temple. Decorating the walls of this temple were several large stone slabs depicting different monsters. As Yuma and Astral looked around, they saw Akhenaden pinned against the high wall of the temple in a crater that had once been another stone slab. He was much older than when Yuma and Astral first saw him and dressed in hooded white robes. The Millennium Eye had since replaced the old priest's left eye._

 _"What's going on now?" Yuma wondered._

 _"Yuma, look!" Astral told him after taking a look to their left._

 _Yuma looked, and saw standing next to them a young man with long white hair and purple eyes that showed a madness and thirst for blood. He had on a long red coat, and hanging from his neck by a brown leather string was the pendant that Yuma recognized from Alnia's Number as the Millennium Ring. A very large scar covered the left side of the young man's face._

 _"Astral, am I wrong? Or is this guy Alnia's little brother?" Yuma asked._

 _"I think he might just be." Astral agreed. "And he's not alone. Look."_

 _Yuma looked at where Astral was pointing, and looming behind Bakura was a massive demonic-looking creature with dark-grey skin and a muscular upper body. It had a hideous face with two yellow. A spike grew from the front of the demon's forehead, and growing from the sides of his face were fins that resembled a pair of wings. It had a large pair of feathered wings on its back, and the demon's lower half was a long tail that ended with the head of a hooded cobra._

 _"It would be easy for me to kill you right here and take your Millennium Item," Bakura told Akhenaden, "but what if I could get you to work for me? The Millennium Ring can infuse objects with a part of its owner's soul… What would happen if I sealed my evil will into your Millennium Eye?" At the thought of this, Bakura chuckled. "You'd become my pawn."_

 _"N-Never! I am loyal to the Pharaoh! You can't control me!" a frightened Akhenaden declared. "I summon a Ka from the stone slab!"_

 _Akhenaden's Millennium Eye began to shine with a golden light, and soon after a dog-like creature emerged from one of the slabs decorating the walls. But with an annoyed glance from Bakura, the demon accompanying him threw a ball of energy from its clawed hand and vaporized Akhenaden's monster._

 _"I could tear you limb from limb right here," Bakura pointed out to the old priest, "but that wouldn't be enough. It wouldn't make up for Kul Elna."_

 _The little color that was left in the old priest's face instantly drained away upon hearing the name of the village he massacred years ago._

 _"You can still hear them, can't you?" Bakura continued. "The death screams of Kul Elna, the Village of Thieves? I am the sole survivor of that village… of Kul Elna."_

 _"I can't really blame Bakura for being so angry." Yuma admitted. "Or Alnia, even. What this Akhenaden guy did to make these Millennium Items… it was horrible!"_

 _"Yes, but that does not excuse the actions of neither Bakura nor Alnia." Astral pointed out._

 _"Now… this city, too, will drown in blood…" Bakura continued, "and you'll be the one to spill it… as you become the ruler of shadows!"_

 _The temple was then suddenly washed out in another flash of gold light. When the light cleared, Yuma and Astral were back in the underground chamber where the Millennium Items had been forged. Akhenaden was walking up to the slab with two of the Millennium Items in his hand and a vacant expression on his face. Four of the other Millennium Items had already been fitted into the slab, and Bakura's dead body was on the ground next to it. Yuma glanced to his right and saw that he and Astral were standing next to the young man whom he recognized as the famed Pharaoh Atem._

 _Atem called out to Akhenaden to stop what he was doing, but the old priest completely ignored him. After placing the two items he was holding into the slab, Akhenaden laughed madly as he pulled the Millennium Eye out of his eye socket and placed it in its slot in the tablet. Once the eye was placed, all seven of the Millennium Items began to shimmer with a golden light._

 _"Come to me, Zorc Necrophades!" Akhenaden called out as he raised his arms in the air._

 _A pillar of blinding red light shot up from the ground behind the tablet. When the light subsided, a massive demon had appeared inside the chamber. He had purplish-black skin and a muscular upper body. His face was a pair of eyes with a large fanged mouth, and a pair of thick curved horns grew from the sides of his head. A pair of massive bat-like wings with pronounced veins grew from his back. A long cord-like tail grew from the demon's rear end, and extending from between his legs was a serpent-like head._

 _"Holy crap!" a horrified Yuma exclaimed. "That's really the Zorc that Alnia and the other Death Queens have been trying to bring back?"_

 _"Incredible!" Astral exclaimed. "Though what we're seeing is but an afterimage, I can sense an immense power coming from Zorc. Even Don Thousand's power doesn't compare."_

 _Zorc kneeled down to get closer to Akhenaden, resting his arm on his knee. "Who awakens me? Who desires the power of shadows?"_

 _"It is I." Akhenaden answered as he bowed to the demon._

 _"With the seven forbidden treasures, you have opened the door to darkness and released my power in this world…" Zorc responded, "and the heavens will turn black with clouds, and the earth will be crowned with terror. One beat of my wings will peel flesh from men's bones… one breath from my lungs will burn bones to dust… and you wish to receive a part of that power?"_

 _"I do." Akhenaden answered._

 _Zorc let out a hideous laugh. "Priest Akhenaden, I knew you would come here to complete the dark contract with me. Because you are the one who created the Millennium Items."_

 _"Yes… all was according to your will, Lord Zorc." Akhenaden responded._

 _"First you gained the power to summon monsters," Zorc continued. "You trafficked with demons willingly… and with that power in hand, the ambitious ones began to fight among themselves. I knew that one day, one of you would gather the Millennium Items in one place… and awaken the great darkness."_

 _"What's he saying?" Yuma asked. "Did Zorc somehow trick Akhenaden into making the Millennium Items?"_

 _"It would seem so." Astral answered. "Zorc must have devised the ritual to forge the Millennium Items and somehow sent it into the human world in the hopes that someone would use it. When Akhenaden chose to conduct the ritual, he began a chain of dark events that could only end with this moment."_

 _A ball of crimson light formed in Zorc's right hand. "Akhenaden… I give you my power! Become the slave of my soul… and rule this world!"_

 _With that, the demon god threw the ball of light at Akhenaden, causing a pillar of blood red energy to shoot up around him. Akhenaden let out a maniacal laugh as his body transformed. When his transformation finished, the old priest had gained a head of long red head and had gained black and gold armor with a long black cape. Covering his face was a featureless white mask that showed only the empty socket that once contained the Millennium Eye._

 _The dark priest took his artificial eye back from the tablet and put it back in his face before turning to Atem. "And now, 'Great Pharaoh'… the Millennium Eye will soon watch your death throes."_

 _Suddenly the chamber became bathed in another flash of golden light. Yuma felt himself falling again through the same tunnel that he and Astral had originally came through._

* * *

Yuma fell back onto his butt in front of the tablet, reeling from the events that he had just witnessed. Astral backed away from the ancient slab with an expression of shock on his face. The energy being's hands were trembling.

"That… that was nuts!" Yuma declared. "You were right, Astral. I don't think Don Thousand could hold a candle to Zorc."

"Pharaoh Atem must have wielded an immense power to have defeated such a monster." Astral assumed.

"And now Alnia and Mitaka are trying to bring that monster back from the dead." Yuma added.

"…That too may be part of Zorc's grand design." Astral theorized. "I do not know for certain, but perhaps the Death Queens were a sort of failsafe he put in place in the event he was defeated."

"Do you really think so?" a surprised Yuma asked as he got back to his feet.

"It would not surprise me." Astral replied. "From what we have seen, Zorc was quite the manipulator of the human heart. His scheme with the Millennium Items went exactly as he had planned."

"But how'd he know that Bakura would go after Akhenaden and the Millennium Items like that?" Yuma asked.

"Evil begets evil, Yuma. If it had not been Bakura, or even if Kul Elna had not been the village slaughtered to make the Millennium Items, a survivor from the massacre required of the ritual to make the Millennium Items would have come for revenge." Astral replied. "Zorc played upon the darkness of the human heart to set in motion a chain of events that would've eventually resulted in him being unleashed upon the human world."

"This is nuts…" Yuma declared. "Maybe we should call it a night, Astral."

"Indeed. We have quite a day ahead of us tomorrow." Astral agreed.

With that, Yuma and Astral headed out of the stadium in silence. After they left through the front door, they found Kotori waiting for them at the bottom of the steps.

"There you two are!" Kotori spoke. "What the heck were you guys doing in there?"

"Oh, just checking out that tablet they showed us all at the start of the tournament." Yuma answered as he rubbed the back of his head. "Astral wanted to get a closer look at it."

"I see…" Kotori replied. "Astral, can you give Yuma and I some time alone?"

"If you wish." Astral answered. "I should begin devising some new strategies to fight Mitaka and Alnia anyway."

With that, Astral turned into particles of light that flowed into the Emperor's Key, leaving Yuma and Kotori totally alone.

"So Kotori, is there a reason you were waiting for me?" Yuma asked as they began walking.

"Well… I guess it was mainly because I'm a little worried about tomorrow." Kotori answered. "You're probably going to be facing both Mitaka and Alnia in the tournament. I'm just worried that… things might not go well."

"Hey. Relax Kotori. Astral and I have got it covered." Yuma assured her. "There's no way that Mitaka or Alnia can beat us. I mean c'mon! We've already beating Kaito and Hikari."

"Good point." Kotori admitted. "Hey Yuma? Do you think you could call your sister and tell her you're staying over at Kaito's or Sharks? I've already called mine to tell them I'm spending the night at Cathy's."

"Um, okay. I guess I could." Yuma answered. "But how come?"

"Just trust me." Kotori told him.

As soon as Yuma finished making his call, Kotori took him to a little motel that wasn't far from the stadium. When Kotori asked the older woman manning the front desk if they could check into a room for the night, it didn't take long for Yuma to figure out what she had in mind. He had already suspected as much when Kotori asked him to call home and lie about where he was spending the night. The woman at the front desk gave the couple a slightly disapproving look, but went ahead and gave them a room key regardless. With the key in hand, Yuma and Kotori headed for the room.

The room that Yuma and Kotori ended up with was fairly small, and the furniture looked as though it hadn't been updated since the early 1990s, but it was still perfectly suitable for what Yuma and Kotori were planning to use it for. After Kotori placed the Do Not Disturb sign on the outside doorknob and locked the door behind her, she removed her shirt and tossed it away to a far corner of the room, revealing the pink bra she was wearing underneath. Yuma's pants had already formed into a tent as Kotori removed her skirt and tossed it towards the same spot her shirt had landed.

With one of the most seductive looks that Yuma had seen Kotori give him, the green-haired girl sauntered over to him, and before he totally realized it they had become locked in a passionate open-mouthed kiss. As they became lost in passion, Yuma reached around and somehow undid the clasp of Kotori's bra. When she finally pulled away for air, her bra dropped to the floor, revealing her bare chest. Smirking, Kotori began to pull off Yuma's shirt. Yuma eagerly helped her along, and with his shirt finally discarded they became locked in another passionate embrace, moaning at the sensation of their bare skin touching each other.

Somehow the couple made it over to the edge of the bed. When they were forced to part for air again, Kotori pushed Yuma onto the bed on his back. Then, after removing her panties and tossing them away, Kotori deftly removed Yuma's pants and underwear in one deft move. The green-haired girl got on top of Yuma, straddling him and leaning forward to give him another fiery kiss before finally lowering herself onto Yuma's rock-hard manhood. Kotori then began rocking her hips, gradually picking up speed as time went on. Every now and then she's stop and bend forward to give Yuma another fiery kiss on the lips. Eventually Yuma could feel Kotori's inner walls tightening around him, and he could feel himself getting close to the edge as well.

"Oh man!" Yuma cried. "Kotori! I think I'm gonna…"

"Not yet! Not Yet!" Kotori moaned as she picked up the pace. "Hold on!"

At long last the two of them managed to climax at the same moment. Kotori could feel Yuma's warm essence shooting into her. As they came down from their orgasms, Kotori collapsed onto the bed next to Yuma.

"You know… I think we're getting better at this." Yuma told her as they finished catching their breath.

"I think you're right." Kotori agreed with a small chuckle. "…You can go again, right?"

"Uh, sure." Yuma confirmed. "Whenever you're ready."

Smiling, Kotori got up on all fours on the bed. Yuma got onto his knees, and taking hold of Kotori's hips he inserted his re-hardened rod into her from behind. The young duelist bucked his hips into Kotori at a slow speed, gradually picking up the pace as time went on. Eventually Kotori managed to bend backward and grab onto the back of Yuma's head. Turned on by how flexible Kotori was, Yuma began to pound into her even harder. Kotori's beasts bounced with the force of Yuma's movements. They somehow continued in that position for what seemed like an eternity, their bodies becoming covered in sweat. Then at long last they managed to come to a hard climax in the same blissful moment.

The two of them collapsed onto the bed in what was almost a tangle of limbs. With what little energy he had left, Yuma pulled the blanket over them both. The two of them remained cuddled together in silence. After what were probably several minutes, Kotori noticed that a troubled expression had formed on Yuma's face.

"Is something wrong?" Kotori finally asked him.

"…I was just thinking about Mitaka and Alnia." Yuma answered. "This might sound weird, but… I want to help those two. I mean I know they've done some pretty bad stuff, but Astral and I have seen what they've been through in their past lives. I can't blame them for wanting to destroy the world after what they've been through. And… I'm not really sure, but I think all of the Death Queens are being used."

"By who?" Kotori asked as she propped herself up with arm.

"By Zorc." Yuma answered. "Don't ask me how or why, but I think the Death Queens are no different than how Shark and the other Barian Emperors were."

"Well, if the Death Queens really are being used, I'm sure you and Astral will be able to help them." Kotori assured him.

"Thanks." Yuma replied before giving her a light kiss. "I know I'm going to do everything that I can for them."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Another reason why it took me so long to get this chapter up was I was figuring out how to do the flashback. The dialogue for the two later parts of the flashback were taken from the original manga, with a few little alterations here and there. As for the little revelation about Alnia and Thief King Bakura being related, I had been going back and forth on whether to do that little plot twist since before starting the story. The reason I hesitated was because I thought it might be too much of a coincidence that a possible older sister of Bakura's would end up being the leader of the Death Queens.

Please review and let me know what you think. I'll try not to take too long with the next chapter.


	27. Cleo vs Alnia

**Author's Note:** I'd like to respond to an observation made by SulliMike23, who in his last review noted how I seem to bring back Zorc in a lot of my Yu-Gi-Oh! fanfics in some form or another. A big part of the reason for that is Zorc is pretty much the ultimate evil in the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise. A friend of mine and I once even compared Zorc to Sauron from _Lord of the Rings_. Because Zorc is kind of this ultimate evil, I've made it a small goal of mine to do a fanfic for each Yu-Gi-Oh! series where its main protagonist faces off against an incarnation of Zorc. Of course I'm not sure how I could do that with ARC-V at the moment, since ARC-V seems to be its own separate continuity.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.

* * *

Chapter 27: Cleo vs. Alnia

The final day of the Millennium Tournament finally came to Heartland City. The stadium had once again become filled with spectators who were eager to see the duels that would soon decide the tournament's champion. Many of Yuma's friends had taken their place up in the skybox to watch coming duels, some of them with great concern. For they knew that what remained of the tournament was going to be the final battle against the Death Queens. Yuma, Astral and Cleo were the only ones in their usual dugout, as all of their other friends had been eliminated.

"Hey Cleo. You be careful out there." Yuma told her. "Alnia's a really dangerous duelist."

"I appreciate your concern, but there's no need to worry." Cleo assured him. "I will crush Alnia under my heel in this duel and put an end to this madness."

"The first duel of the semifinal round will be between Cleo Atlas and Alnia!" the referee announced. "Will both duelists please step onto the stage?"

Alnia emerged from the other dugout at the same time Cleo headed up to the stage. As the two duelists prepared to face off, many of the audience members were rooting for Cleo to win. It had become clear that Alnia had gained a bad reputation among the fans.

"Looks like I'm finally going to be up against a decent opponent." Alnia remarked with a mad grin. "You'll make a good warm up for me in case Mitaka screws up and I have to face Tsukumo and the Envoy."

"That arrogance of yours will be your undoing, Death Queen." Cleo told her. "I'm nothing like the two you dueled before."

"That's what I'm hoping for." Alnia replied.

"Let the duel… begin!" the referee announced.

With that, Cleo activated her D-Gazer and duel disk. At the same time, Alnia's left eye changed color and her left arm changed to its Barian form and her duel disk appeared. Once the audience members activated their D-Gazers, the color of the surrounding area took on a slight change.

"I'll be starting this duel off." Alnia declared as she drew her first card. "I set one monster on the field and end my turn."

"I don't mind saying that I'm a bit nervous about this duel." Rio confessed to the others up in the skybox. "Alnia ended up sending poor Michael to the hospital. Who knows what she could end up doing to Cleo?"

"Don't worry. Cleo's pretty tough." Hikari assured her. "Plus she has Red Nova Dragon to call on. Alnia might just end up losing this one."

"Even so, Alnia is a pretty dangerous opponent." Kaito pointed out. "She may have already set a trap for Cleo with just that monster."

Cleo drew her first card. "I summon Dark Resonator in Attack Mode!" Cleo's faithful Resonator demon appeared on the field. "Next I play the Spell card, Over Tuning! With this card, I special summon the Tuner monster, Phantom King Hydride from my hand!"

Materializing on the battlefield was a knight on the back of a black horse with a blonde tail and mane. The knight was clad in silver armor and long blonde hair peeked out from beneath his helmet.

"And just what are you gonna do with two Tuners?" Alnia asked. "You gonna thrill me with an Xyz Summon?"

"Hardly." Cleo answered. "Even though Hydride is a Tuner, I can use him as a non-Tuner monster when performing an Xyz Summon! I tune the level three Dark Resonator into the level three Phantom King Hydride for a level six Synchro Summon!"

Dark Resonator clinked his tuning fork and changed into three green rings of light. The rings encircled the silver horseman and changed him into three white stars.

"The crimson souls shall become one! All shall tremble before the might of the empress!" Cleo chanted. "Synchro Summon! Appear, Red Wyvern!"

The stars flashed and became a pillar of crimson flames that shot into the sky. When the flames subsided, Cleo's flaming red dragon appeared on the field.

"Red Wyvern! Destroy Alnia's face-down monster!" Cleo commanded. "Crimson Flare!"

The red dragon shot a blast of flames from his beak-like mouth at Alnia's monster. As the attack came near, the monster was revealed to be a familiar clay jar with an animal skull for a head. The jar shattered upon being hit, and a dark mist drifted across the battlefield. The flames burning on Red Wyvern's body suddenly went out and all of his body fat seemed to waste away. Red scales had even started to fall of the dragon's body.

"The monster you just destroyed was my Cursed Canopic Jar." Alnia informed Cleo. "Now your monster loses 600 ATK and all of its effects are negated while it's on the field."

"That's one of the monsters that Alnia used against Gauche!" Yuma recalled.

"I set two cards on the field and end my turn." Cleo announced.

Alnia drew her next card. "I activate the Spell card, Shifting Darkness! I shuffle three Dark monsters in my hand back into my deck to add three new Dark monsters to my hand. Now I discard three cards to summon Archfiend Sphinx!"

Appearing on Alnia's side of the battlefield was a large sphinx with hairless dark-grey skin and a face resembling a human skull with blood red eyes. On its head was a red and gold headdress like that of an Egyptian pharaoh, and on its back was a pair of large scaly bat-like wings with red membranes.

"Now Alnia's just summoned a monster with 2900 ATK!" an alarmed Yuma observed.

"Yes, but she discarded three cards in order to do it." Astral noted. "And before summon Archfiend Sphinx, she used Shifting Darkness to change the cards in her hand."

"So… you think that Alnia summoned that sphinx thing to set up an Xyz Summon later on?" Yuma asked.

"That would probably be a safe assumption." Astral confirmed. "I fear that Alnia might be toying with Cleo in this duel."

"I activate Archfiend Sphinx's effect!" Alnia announced. "By banishing a Dark monster from my Graveyard, Archfiend Sphinx can deal 800 points of damage for each of my opponent's Spell and Trap cards. So I remove Cursed Canopic Jar to take off 1600 life points!"

Two beams of red light shot from the eyes of the cobra decorating the demon sphinx's headdress and struck Cleo in the chest. The dark-haired woman nearly dropped to one knee and her life points fell to 2400.

"I activate my Trap, Shapesister!" Cleo announced. "When activated, Shapesister is summoned to the field as a level two Tuner monster!"

Appearing on the field next to Red Wyvern was a blob of silver liquid metal. The metal quickly changed shape and formed into the top half of a female figure with red eyes. Growing from the back of her head in place of hair were long thick silver tendrils that each ended with a sharp point.

"A Trap Tuner, huh? Interesting." Alnia remarked. "Too bad you're not gonna have the chance to use it! Archfiend Sphinx! Wipe that blob off the field! Howl of Destruction!"

"Not so fast!" Cleo interrupted as red light began to gather in the demon sphinx's jaws. "I activate the Trap, Urgent Tuning! With this card, I tune the level two Shapesister into the level six Red Wyvern for a level eight Synchro Summon!"

Shapesister's body flashed orange before becoming two rings of green light. The rings quickly encircled Cleo's withered wyvern and transformed it into six white stars.

"The ruler's heartbeats will now file through here! Take witness to its creation-shaking power!" Cleo chanted. "Synchro Summon! My very soul, Red Dragon Archfiend!"

The stars flashed and became a pillar of white light that shot up into the sky. The light quickly died down and Red Dragon Archfiend appeared on the field with a roar. The audience members began to cheer upon seeing the legendary red dragon. With Red Dragon Archfiend's appearance, the red light in Archfiend Sphinx's mouth quickly went out.

Alnia began to chuckle. "Okay then. In that case I activate the Quick-Play Spell, Blessings of the Shadows! Since a Dark monster has just been special summoned to the field, Blessings of the Shadows lets us both draw four new cards."

"That's awfully generous of you." Cleo remarked as she drew her new cards. "You realize you're giving me something of an advantage."

"Hey. Don't get the wrong idea. I'm mostly doing this to help me, since I just use up most of my hand this turn." Alnia pointed out. "Besides, I want you to come at me with everything you've got before I turn you into a bloody smear on the stage."

"You should be careful what you wish for." Cleo told her. "You're soon going to realize that I'm too much for you to handle."

"Don't make me laugh." Alnia scoffed. "If you and that cousin of yours had been smart, you wouldn't have gotten involved in all this in the first place. I realize that you both kinda got sucked in because you both were shacking up with a couple of Don Thousand's former pawns, but you both should've pulled out when you had the chance. Neither of you have what it takes to even come close to taking me out."

"We shall soon see about that." Cleo responded.

"I guess we will." Alnia agreed. "I'll just end my turn now. Give me everything you've got, Signer bitch."

Cleo calmly drew her next card. "I activate the Spell card, Resonator Call to add a Resonator monster to my hand. Next I summon Red Resonator in Attack Mode!" The crimson Resonator demon that Cleo used in her duel with Shark appeared on the field. "Since I just summoned Red Resonator, I summon a second Red Resonator from my hand!"

The second of Cleo's two crimson Tuner demons materialized on the battlefield.

"When Red Resonator is special summoned, I can increase my life points by an amount equal to the ATK of one monster I control." Cleo continued. "The monster I choose is Red Dragon Archfiend! Which means I gain 3000 life points!"

The second Red Resonator glowed with a red aura and fired sparks of red light from the orb on his rod at Cleo. Cleo's life points rose 5400.

"I tune both my level two Red Resonators into the level eight Red Dragon Archfiend for a level twelve Synchro Summon!" Cleo announced.

The little fiery demons clinked their tuning forks and changed into four rings made of crimson fire. The rings encircled Red Dragon Archfiend and began like a small burning sun.

"The Empress and the Devil shall here and now be as one! A Raging Spirit! Lift up the very cries of Creation itself!" Cleo chanted. "Synchro Summon! The power to smite the gods, Red Nova Dragon!"

Red Nova Dragon burst from the miniature sun with a roar. The audience cheered with approval upon seeing Cleo's ultimate monster. Many of the audience members began chanting Cleo's name.

"Red Nova Dragon gains 500 ATK for each Tuner monster in my Graveyard." Cleo continued. "There are currently four Tuners in my Graveyard, which means Red Nova's ATK is now 5500! I now play the Field Spell, Domain of the Earthbound!"

As soon as Cleo activated her Field Spell, dark-purple clouds covered the sky and began to flash with lightning. The stadium floor turned grey and large lines that appeared to be part of some massive shape that could only be fully seen from above appeared on it.

"This is the same combo that screwed me up when I dueled Cleo." Shark recalled up in the skybox.

"We can only hope this combo will be just as affective against Alnia." Durbe remarked.

"While Domain of the Earthbound is on the field, Red Nova Dragon can't be targeted by my opponent's card effects." Cleo announced. "Red Nova! Attack Archfiend Sphinx! Burning Soul!"

Red Nova became covered in flames and flew at full speed towards Alnia's monster. The demon sphinx was blasted apart upon being hit and Alnia's life points took a heavy drop to 1400, much to the approval of the audience.

"There's now a 4000 point difference between Alnia's life points and Cleo's." Astral observed. "The duel seems to be going in Cleo's favor."

"Not bad." Alnia praised. "But since Archfiend Sphinx was destroyed, I can summon three monsters from my Graveyard. I summon the three Tomb Specters I discarded last turn to summon it!"

Three shadowy phantoms appeared on Alnia's side of the battlefield. They were transparent and had black bodies with a purplish tint. They had tails instead of legs and floated in the air. Each phantom's face was featureless except for two glowing red eyes. All three of the ghosts wore a gold bracelet on each wrist and a gold collar on their necks.

"When each Tomb Specter is summoned from the Graveyard, its ATK is doubled to 2400 and its level rises from three to six until the end of the next turn." Alnia announced.

"Just as I thought. That sphinx of yours was merely a way for you to set up the summoning of your Number." Cleo deduced. "To bad that Number of yours isn't going to do you much good now."

"True. That dragon of yours is practically indestructible, which means Lucifer's Millennium Ring effect is no good." Alnia responded. "And with this Field Spell of yours in play, I can't take control of your dragon with Lucifer's Millennium Rod effect. I could use his Millennium Eye effect to equip him with a monster from your hand, but that's too much of a gamble."

"It seems I've tied your hand then." Cleo assumed.

"Don't be so sure." Alnia told her. "You have set up something of a challenge, but the last thing you are is unbeatable. I'm still gonna murder you in this duel."

"Then go ahead and try." Cleo dared. "I end my turn."

Alnia grinned as she drew her next card. "You know what comes next! I use my three level six monsters to build the overlay network and summon my ultimate monster! Arise, Number 666: Archfiend Pharaoh Lucifer!"

A red vortex in the form of a galaxy appeared in the center of the field and pulled in the three Tomb Specters as balls of red energy. The tablet of the Millennium Items rose from the center of the vortex moments later with three balls of gold light orbiting around it, only to explode and take the form of Alnia's demon pharaoh.

"Get ready, Signer bitch." Alnia spoke. "The real fun is just getting started."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Some of you reading might've noticed that Alnia stole a certain Yu-Gi-Oh! character's catchphrase at the end of this chapter. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed the first half of this duel. In the next chapter, things should start to get interesting.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	28. Dragon of the Black Sun

**Author's Note:** I'd like to take a moment to respond to the last review of my regular guest reviewer, SuperSaiyanGod53. I hate to tell you this, but Alnia's final line at the end of the last chapter was actually the catchphrase of Yuya from Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V. I guess I should've just said that in the last author's note instead of asking people to guess. Sorry about that. Anyway, on with the story.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.

* * *

Chapter 28: Dragon of the Black Sun

"I activate the Spell card, Blazing Number!" Alnia announced. "This card lets me raise the ATK of a Number monster by 1000 points for each of its overlay units until the end of the turn. And since Lucifer currently has three overlay units attached to him, his ATK rises to 6600!"

The balls orbiting around Lucifer suddenly turned into balls of golden flame. The demon pharaoh threw his head back and growled while flexing his arms, and his body began to give off a golden flame-like aura.

"Lucifer! Blow that dragon away!" Alnia commanded. "Millennium Ruin!"

Lucifer aimed his Millennium Rod at Red Nova Dragon and a massive ball of crackling black and gold energy began to form at the end. When the sphere became large enough, it launched across the battlefield at the red dragon.

"How pathetic! I activate Red Nova's effect!" Cleo announced. "By banishing Red Nova Dragon from the field until the end of the turn, I can negate your monster's attack!"

Just as the sphere of energy came in range, a swirling pillar of crimson flames appeared around Red Nova. The sphere struck the twister of fire and exploded. When the smoke cleared, Red Nova was nowhere to be seen but Cleo's life points were untouched.

"Huh… so much for the straight forward approach." Alnia remarked. "Oh well. I guess I'll just set a card on the field and end my turn."

With the turn over, the aura faded from Lucifer and the fireballs orbiting around him turned back into normal balls of golden light. At the same time, Red Nova Dragon reappeared on the battlefield with a red flash.

"Lucifer's ATK has returned to 3600." Astral observed. "Meanwhile, Red Nova Dragon's ATK is still at 5500. Alnia only has 1400 life points remaining, which means that while an attack from Cleo's dragon wouldn't destroy Lucifer, it would still take Alnia's life points to zero."

"In other words, it looks like Cleo may win this one!" Yuma enthusiastically realized.

"If her next attack gets through, yes." Astral confirmed. "But I fear that it may not be that easy."

Cleo drew her next card. "Your Number may be invincible in battle to anything except other Numbers, but it won't protect you from losing! Red Nova! Attack Archfiend Pharaoh Lucifer and end this! Burning Soul!"

Red Nova roared in response and his body became enveloped in red flames. The dragon then flew across the battlefield at the demon pharaoh at full speed.

Alnia smirked. "Nice try! I activate my Trap, Negate Attack!"

Just as Red Nova Dragon came in striking distance, a swirling vortex appeared in front of Lucifer. The power of the vortex repelled the dragon back across the battlefield and the flames covering Red Nova's body faded. Many of the audience members protested at the dragon's attack being halted.

"You actually came pretty close there, Signer." Alnia told her. "But I'm afraid what you got just wasn't good enough."

"All you've done is use a basic trick to prolong your life for another turn." Cleo told her. "Since there's nothing more I can do right now, I'll end my turn here. But let me make one thing clear. This duel is all but lost to you."

"I figured that this duel wouldn't end as smoothly as we hoped." Kaito remarked up in the skybox.

"Cleo still has the lead in this duel though." Rio pointed out. "With the way things are, she should still be able to beat Alnia."

"I wouldn't be so sure, Merag." Vector told her. "Even though your scary girlfriend seems to have Alnia in a bind, there's one thing that all of us seem to be forgetting. We've seen the Chaos forms for Numbers of the other two Death Queens. Why haven't we seen one for Number 666?"

"You think Alnia's going to rank up Lucifer on the next turn." Shark realized.

"Since she's a Barian, it wouldn't be any trouble for her at all to do that on the next turn." Vector pointed out. "It looks like Alnia might've been stringing Cleo along this whole time."

The next card that Alnia drew from her deck flashed with a crimson light. "I activate Rank-Up-Magic – The Devil's Triad! Using Archfiend Pharaoh Lucifer, I open the gates of the underworld to rebuild the overlay network and summon a monster one rank higher! Arise, Number C666: Black Solar Dragon Lucifer!"

A massive pillar of crimson light shot up from the ground around the demon pharaoh and a horrid roar could be heard from within. The pillar of energy continued to expand outward and turned pitch-black in a matter of seconds. Cleo's Signer mark began to glow in response to the pillar of energy, as did Hikari's mark up in the skybox. After a few moments, the pillar of energy faded to reveal a massive sphere of black metal floating above the battlefield like a dark sun. Orbiting around the sphere were four balls of silvery-white light.

What appeared to be steam began to pour from the seams of the metal sphere as it began to open up. The steam subsided as the sphere formed into four metallic black wings. The wings were attached to the back of a skeletal dragon made of silver metal bones. Pieces of black armor with gold trim covered the dragon's torso, shoulder and waist. The head of the Millennium Rod adorned the tip of the dragon's boney tail, and the Millennium Ring was embedded in the center of the armor covering the dragon's chest. In the left eye socket of the skull that was the dragon's head was the Millennium Eye, and the right eye socket glowed with a fiendish red light. Large black curved horns grew from the sides of the dragon's skull, and from the back grew long red hair. The number 666 glowed in red alien writing on the armor covering the dragon's left shoulder joint.

"What do you think of me now, Signer bitch?" Alnia asked. "Still think I don't have a chance of winning?"

"I'll admit that dragon of yours looks… unsettling, but it only has 4200 ATK." Cleo pointed out. "In the end, my dragon is still the more powerful one."

"ATK wise your dragon is stronger, but it can't hold a candle to my dragon's power." Alnia told her. "I activate Black Solar Dragon Lucifer's effect! By detaching one of his overlay units, Lucifer sends all other monsters to the Graveyard!"

One of the balls of light orbiting the skeleton dragon entered the eye of the Millennium Ring on its chest. The dragon roared and his body gave off waves of silver light that radiated across the field. Upon being hit by the waves, Red Nova Dragon turned into a black mist that broke apart and faded away like a cloud. Soon after, Cleo's life points rose to 10900.

"But… that's impossible!" a stunned Cleo protested. "Red Nova can't be destroyed by the opponent's card effects! What sort of trickery is this, Alnia?"

"There's a difference in this game between a monster being destroyed and being sent to the Graveyard." Alnia pointed out. Lucifer's effect basically erases other monsters from the field without actually destroying them. If it's any consolation, the effect of your cousin's dragon would be just as worthless against Lucifer."

"Damn you!" Cleo cursed.

"Hey. It's not all bad you know." Alnia continued. "Both of us gain life points equal to the combined ATK of the monsters removed from the field by Lucifer's effect. I don't get any more life points since I didn't lose any monsters, but you got a ton of life points thanks to your dragon's 5500 ATK. Of course… you're not going to be enjoying those life points for very long."

Suddenly four skeletal hands burst up from the ground on Alnia's side of the field, noticeably startling Cleo. In moments, four floating legless skeletons with off-white bones had risen from the earth. Each of them wore pieces of black and gold armor with horned helmets, along with pieces of tattered brown cloth that hung down around their waists. All four of the skeletons wielded a sword in its right hand.

"What the hell are those?" Cleo asked.

"Underworld Soldier Tokens." Alnia answered. "After Lucifer's effect fully resolves, he lets me summon four of these tokens to my side of the field. Each of these bad boys has 1700 ATK. Add all of that to Lucifer's 4200 ATK, and I've got just enough power on my side of the field to finish you off."

"Oh crap!" Yuma exclaimed. "And Cleo's got no way to protect herself against all those monsters!"

"It's all over." Astral grimly stated.

"Attack her directly, my Underworld Soldiers!" Alnia commanded. "Cut her to ribbons!"

The skeletons flew across the battlefield and began slashing Cleo with their swords relentlessly. Cleo attempted to shield herself with her arms, but her life points still fell to 4100. When the undead soldiers finally ended their assault, they split up and flew back over to Alnia's side of the field. The color drained from Cleo's face as Lucifer loomed above her.

"End this, Lucifer!" Alnia ordered. "Breath of the Void!"

The skeletal dragon opened his jaws and breathed out a blast of black energy down at Cleo. Up in the skybox, a horrified Rio stood from her chair as the attack hit its target and completely obscured Cleo from view. The dark-haired young woman's life points dropped to zero in an instant. When the attack ended and the smoke cleared, Cleo was surrounded by a transparent bubble of crimson light. A few seconds later, Lucifer and Alnia's four undead soldiers vanished from the stage. The surrounding area returned to normal as the duel finally concluded. Soon after, the bubbled that had been surrounding Cleo vanished.

"Uh… and the winner of the duel is… Alnia!" the referee announced somewhat reluctantly.

"So, that dragon god of yours protected you in the end." Alnia observed. "Oh well. I'll just kill you later after I revive Lord Zorc. Thanks for the duel. I had a real laugh."

The audience was completely silent as Alnia walked off the stage, chuckling. Cleo seemed to be in a daze for a few moments before she finally left the stage as well and headed for the dugout. Yuma ran out to meet her half way with Astral following close behind.

"Cleo! You okay?" a concerned Yuma asked.

"I'm fine." Cleo answered flatly. "You better not lose to her as well."

"Don't worry. Astral and I will beat Alnia." Yuma assured her. "Count on it."

Cleo merely nodded and headed for the exit to the stadium floor. Yuma and Astral kept a close eye on her as she left.

"Astral, do you really think that Cleo's okay?" Yuma asked.

"Physically she appears to be unharmed, but to a duelist like Cleo I'm sure this defeat has been a hard one." Astral answered. "In the end, Alnia eliminated Cleo's strongest monster with barely any effort. To someone as prideful as Cleo, a defeat like that is hard to take."

* * *

The door to the skybox opened and Cleo walked in with a dead look on her face. Rio ran up to her and nearly knocked the taller girl off her feet as she wrapped her arms around her. Cleo hugged her back almost automatically.

"You nearly scared me to death!" Rio told her.

"I'm okay, Snowflake." Cleo assured her. "I just need to sit down."

Rio quickly guided her over to one of the leather chairs in the skybox. Once Cleo had sat down, Rio got onto her lap, causing Shark to roll his eyes.

Hikari approached Cleo's chair. "You sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine." Cleo insisted. "I just don't wish to talk right now."

"We finally know what Alnia is truly capable." Kaito spoke. "Now it looks like Yuma and Astral are our last hope of beating her."

"But how can they?" Anna asked. "That dragon Alnia used to beat Cleo earlier is one of the strongest monsters we've seen. It clears the field and summons its own army after it's done."

"If anyone can find a way to beat Alnia, Yuma and Astral can." Shark declared.

"I hope you're right, Shark." Kotori spoke. "I'd rather not think about what might happen if Yuma and Astral lose."

* * *

"The next and final duel of the semifinal round will be between Yuma Tsukumo and Samantha Warren!" the referee announced on stage. "The duel will begin in fifteen minutes!"

"Well Mitaka, looks like you're up next." Alnia told Samantha. "You had better not screw this up."

"Don't worry, Alnia. Yuma won't know what hit him." Samantha assured her. "Say. How do you want to handle the rest of the tournament once I beat Yuma and get the Numeron Code? I mean I suppose we could duel each other, but what would be the point?"

"Are you kidding? Screw the rest of the tournament!" Alnia told her. "Once we have the code, we'll revive Lord Zorc on the spot and plunge this world into darkness. But that's only if you can get the code."

"You needn't worry about a thing, Alnia." Samantha replied. "Before this duel is over, I'm going to make Yuma regret the moment he chose that green-haired little bitch over me."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I ended up having a really hard time coming up with the effect for Alnia's Chaos Number. Since Archfiend Pharaoh Lucifer had three effects, I had originally thought about giving its evolved form three different effects as well. They were either going to be effects similar to the three powers of The Winged Dragon of Ra or effects that mimicked the time manipulating powers Yami Bakura used in the Shadow RPG against Atem during the Millennium World arc of the original manga. In the end though, I decided that showing off three new effects might complicate writing the future duels in this story, so I decided to keep it simple and come up with a single effect. The Underworld Soldier Tokens that Alnia summoned are based on the skeleton creatures that Zorc and Akhenaden summoned in the Millennium World arc.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	29. Forest of Pain

**Author's Note:** Apologies for yet another long delay getting this story updated. I've been having a pretty busy couple of weeks. It seemed like every day something would pop up and force me to drop everything else in order to take care of it. Plus I've still been dealing with a little bit of insomnia. So hopefully this chapter will be worth the wait.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.

* * *

Chapter 29: Forest of Pain

The break between duels was nearly at its end, and many of the audience members were scrambling back to their seats after either getting more refreshments or using the restroom facilities. Meanwhile, Yuma and Astral were taking the time to check over their deck at least one more time. They had made a few adjustments to the deck earlier that morning to better prepare for facing the remaining Death Queens, but Yuma had felt that they should look everything over at least one more time. With the Numeron Code and the fate of the world at stake, Yuma did not want to leave anything to chance. Yuma and Astral were so preoccupied with reviewing their deck that they didn't notice when someone entered the dugout.

"Hey Yuma. Astral." The newcomer spoke. The duo looked and saw that it was Thomas who had entered the dugout. "You guys got a minute?"

"Thomas! What're you doing down here?" a surprised Yuma asked. "We've all been trying to get in touch with you since yesterday!"

"Sorry. I had some stuff to work out." Thomas explained. "I know about Michael though. I just got back from visiting him in the hospital. Right now though I wanted to talk to you guys about Samantha since you're about to duel her."

"What is it you wish to ask of us?" Astral asked.

"Well… to be honest I'm not really sure." Thomas admitted. "I just… I want you to know that Samantha is really important to me, even though she and those Death Queen friends of hers have done some terrible things. I don't really know what I expect you to do this duel, but maybe you guys could… get her to stop all this or something."

"Don't worry, Thomas. Astral and I will do our best to help Samantha." Yuma assured him.

"Indeed. Yuma and I are almost certain that Mitaka and even Alnia may simply be pawns for a much greater evil." Astral revealed. "Yuma and I will do whatever we can to save them from it."

"The second duel of the semifinal round will now begin!" the referee announced. "Will Yuma Tsukumo and Samantha Warren please step up on stage?"

With that, Yuma headed for the stage with Astral floating alongside him. When they reached the top of the stage, Samantha was already waiting for them at the other end.

"Hi there, Yuma." Samantha greeted with a rather sinister smirk. "I have to admit that I've kinda been looking forward to this duel. Before this is over, I'm going to make you regret passing me up for birdy-girl."

"Mitaka, Yuma and I would like to request that you simply end all this here." Astral spoke. "This conflict has gone far enough."

Samantha let out a cold laugh. "Really? You're going to try playing that card with me, Envoy? If you're really expecting me to just walk away, you're as dumb as that human brother of yours."

"Mitaka… no, Samantha… I get why you and Alnia want to destroy everything, but we think you're only being used." Yuma told her.

"I'm just gonna stop you right there." Samantha cut in. "The only thing I want to hear now is the sound of you begging for mercy. Now let's get on with this!"

"Let the duel begin!" the referee announced.

With that, Yuma activated his D-Gazer and duel disk. Meanwhile Samantha's left eye changed color and her left arm changed to its Barian form, causing her duel disk to appear. The audience members activated their D-Gazers as well and the color of the surrounding area changed.

"Ladies first." Samantha announced as she drew her first card. "I summon Dark Elf in Attack Mode!" The redhead's dark-haired elf woman appeared on the field. "Next I play the Field Spell, Forest of the Dark Elves!"

Suddenly trees with dark-grey bark burst up everywhere from the stadium floor. The branches of the trees sprouted silvery leaves, which were so thick that they blocked out the light of the sun above.

"While Forest of the Dark Elves is on the field, all Spellcaster-type monsters gain 800 ATK." Samantha announced. "Not only that, I don't have to pay the life point cost required by certain cards."

"I see. This was she does not have to pay 1000 life points to attack with Dark Elf." Astral realized.

"And thanks to the power boost from this forest, her Dark Elf now has 2800 ATK." Yuma added.

"I'll set two cards on the field and end my turn." Samantha announced.

"Looks like Mitaka's going all out in this duel." Shark observed up in the skybox.

"Still, even with the power boost from that forest card of hers, Dark Elf should still be pretty easy for Yuma and Astral to beat." Cathy assumed.

"Don't be so sure." Kotori told them. "I just know that Mitaka has something bad planned."

"What do you think Astral? Should we go all out?" Yuma asked.

"Offense may be the best defense at this stage." Astral answered. "At the very least, attacking may show us her strategy."

"Okay then!" Yuma replied as he drew his first card. "I summon Gagaga Girl in Attack Mode!"

Materializing on Yuma's side of the field was a teenage girl with light-blonde hair and reddish-brown eyes. She had on a dark-blue outfit similar to Gagaga Magician's, which included a conical hat with orange trim that curved forward. Around her neck was a long pink scarf, and her skirt had large pink diamond-shaped segments, and on the back of the skirt was a large pink bow. In place of a magic wand, the young sorceress carried a red smart phone with a large keychain that had two white skulls dangling on the end.

"Next I activate Gagaga Academy Emergency Network!" Yuma announced. "When I have a Gagaga monster on the field, this Spell lets me summon another one from my deck! I summon Gagaga Magician!" Yuma's silver-haired magician appeared on the battlefield next to his female counterpart. "I activate Gagaga Magician's effect and change his level from four to eight! Next I activate Gagaga Girl's effect and change her level to match Gagaga Magician's! Now, using my two level eight monsters, I build the overlay network and Xyz Summon one of the strongest Numbers I've got! Come forth, Number 22: Zombiestein!"

A galaxy-like vortex appeared in the center of the field and pulled in Yuma's two monsters as balls of orange energy. Rising out of the vortex soon after was a large beating patchwork heart that had two balls of orange light orbiting around it. In moments, the heart transformed into the muscular giant that Yuma had summoned near the end of his duel with Hikari.

"So predictable. I activate a Trap, one that can't be stopped by any of my opponent's card effects!" Samantha announced. "Number Bondage!"

Suddenly two thick black leather straps with silver spiked running along the sides appeared around Zombiestein's torso and bound his arms to his sides. A red ball gag had also appeared in the Frankenstein monster's mouth.

"While this little Continuous Trap is on the field, your Number can't attack, activate its effects, or change its battle position." Samantha announced. "I'd still need another Number to destroy it in battle, but that big hulk of yours is pretty much paralyzed and at my mercy. At this point I activate another Continuous Trap, Xyz Punisher!"

The balls of light orbiting Zombiestein turned into thick black chains. One of the chains bound itself around the giant's torso while the other one bound his ankles together. Yuma's Number had been completely immobilized.

"While Xyz Punisher is on the field, neither one of us can summon any Xyz Monsters from our deck." Samantha announced. "Not only that, any Xyz Monster that does happen to be on the field at the same time as this card loses 500 ATK for each of its overlay units during the end of its owners turn."

"So that means… Zombiestein will lose 1000 ATK each time I end my turn!" Yuma realized.

"Yep. And you know what the beauty of all this is?" Samantha asked. "Ordinarily I'd have to pay 1000 life points at the start of each of my turns to keep Xyz Punisher on the field, but in this case I don't have to thanks to Forest of the Dark Elves."

"An interesting combo, Mitaka." Astral admitted. "But because of your own Trap, you won't be able to summon your Number."

"Oh, I hardly need my Number to beat the two of you." Samantha told them. "I mean I could've just summoned her and killed you both right away, but that wouldn't be as much fun. Now, are you two done?"

"Dang it!" Yuma cursed. "I guess I've got no choice but to end my turn."

Suddenly the chains binding Zombiestein gave off an electrical shock, causing the giant to cry out as his ATK dropped to 3500. At the same time, Yuma cried out in pain at the sensation of being shocked as well and fell to one knee. Meanwhile, Astral let out a startled cry, as his body seemed to momentarily flicker out of existence.

"What… what did you do?" Yuma asked as he got back to his feet.

"I forgot to mention that I put a little enchantment on my two Traps." Samantha revealed. "Now you're both going to feel the same pain your Number feels in this duel. Thanks for summoning such a strong Number, by the way. This only means that I'll be able to draw out your suffering even longer."

"Yuma, we should figure out a way to end this duel quickly." Astral told him. "I'm not sure how much of this we'll be able to endure."

Samantha drew her next card. "I activate the Ritual Spell, Dark Elf Coronation!"

Two long silver torches with green flames appeared to the left and right of Dark Elf. Behind the elf woman had appeared a large polished black box resembling a coffin. Decorating the front of the casket-like box was a silver symbol resembling a rose.

"Ordinarily I'd have to sacrifice monsters whose levels totaled eight for this ritual, but I can also use Dark Elf as the entire sacrifice!" Samantha continued. "So I sacrifice Dark Elf to summon Dark Elf Empress!"

The flames of the torches flashed from green to red and the front of the box behind Dark Elf burst open, spewing out a silvery light. The light struck the elf woman, triggering a dazzling transformation. Dark Elf appeared naked momentarily in the light as her outfit transformed. Her original robes had been replaced by a black dress with a floral pattern and long tight-fitting sleeves, along with a long skirt. The dress was cut low and showed off the elf woman's ample bust, and covering the front of her torso was a piece of black armor with gold trim. On each of her wrists was a gold bracelet that looked like a wreath of thorns, and her golden crown had gained a diamond-shaped ruby on the front. The elf woman's hair long had turned snow-white, and her eyes had become red with slit-like pupils.

"Forest of the Dark Elves raised the ATK of my Dark Elf Empress from 3000 to 3800." Samantha announced. "Not only that, because I used the original Dark Elf to summon her, Dark Elf Empress lets me summon four Dark Elf Tokens to my field! Come on out, ladies!"

Dark Elf Empress glowed with a red aura and four pillars of crimson light shot up from the ground on Mitaka's side of the battlefield. When the lights faded, four new elf women identical to the original Dark Elf had appeared.

"Each Dark Elf Token has an ATK of 2000. But since Forest of the Dark Elves is on the field, the ATK of all my tokens jumps to 2800." Samantha continued.

"On the next turn, Mitaka is going to attack Zombiestein with all of her Dark Elves." Astral realized.

"Dark Elf Empress! Attack Zombiestein!" Samantha commanded. "Forest Punisher!"

A black and gold whip resembling a thorn-covered vein appeared in the empress's right hand. Dark Elf Empress cracked the whip and sent forth a bolt of red electricity that shocked Zombiestein, causing him to cry out in pain and struggle against his bindings. Yuma cried out in pain as well as his life points dropped to 3700. At the same time, Astral momentarily faded from view.

Suddenly Samantha began to chuckle as she began to glow with a red aura. To Yuma's surprise, the redhead's life points rose to 4300.

"What's going on?" Yuma asked. "How come your life points just went up?"

"It's because of another one of Dark Elf Empress's effects." Samantha explained. "As long as my empress is on the field, I gain life points equal to the battle damage that my monsters inflict."

"This is really not good!" Alit declared up in the skybox. "Yuma is totally at the mercy of Mitaka's dominatrix elves!"

"What's even worse is that Mitaka's life points are just going to keep climbing at this rate." Shark added. "If Yuma and Astral can't figure out a way to get rid of those two Traps of Mitaka's soon, they're toast."

"I'll have to end my turn there." Samantha announced. "You guys can struggle all you want, but it won't do you any good. I've got you both right where I want you."

Yuma drew his next card and scowled. "Ah! Dang it! I summon Gogogo Golem in Defense Mode and end my turn!"

Yuma's faithful one-eyed golem appeared on the battlefield next to the bound Zombiestein. The bricks that composed the golem's body had changed from blue to red due to being in Defense Mode.

"You ended your turn, huh? You know what that means." Samantha spoke with an evil smirk. "Xyz Punisher takes another 1000 ATK off that Number of yours."

As if on cue, the chains binding Zombiestein began to shock him again, causing the giant to cry out in pain as he ATK went down to 2500. Yuma cried out in pain from being shocked again as well, nearly falling to his knees again. At the same time, Astral once again flickered in and out of existence.

Samantha drew her next card with a triumphant smirk. "Now the real fun begins. Dark Elf Empress! Attack Zombeistein again! Forest Punisher!"

The empress of the wicked elves cracked her whip and shocked Yuma's Number with another bolt of red electricity. Both Zombiestein and Yuma cried out in pain as Yuma's life points dropped to 2400. At the same time, Samantha's life points climbed up to 5600.

"Attack, my Dark Elf Tokens!" Samantha gleefully ordered. "Punish Zombiestien and Yuma!"

All four of the remaining Dark Elves fired bolts of black electricity at Zombiestein, causing the patchwork giant to cry out in agony. Yuma felt the pain of the shocks and screamed as well. At the same time, Astral flickered in and out of existence like the light of a florescent bulb that was going bad. Samantha laughed with delight at Yuma's pain. Meanwhile up in the skybox, Kotori had covered her eyes. Down in the other dugout, Alnia watched with a triumphant grin.

When the attack finally ended, Yuma had fallen on his face and his life points had dropped to a mere 1200. Meanwhile, Samantha's life points had risen to 6800.

"This is the most fun I've had this whole damn tournament!" Samantha declared. "In fact I'm actually a little turned on right now. Bet you now regret picking birdy-girl over me now, huh?"

"Samantha! Stop this!" a voice interrupted. The redhead looked and saw Thomas standing at the bottom of the stage.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Samantha demanded to know, her grin instantly turning to an expression of utter fury. "You're killing my mood!"

"I can't just stand by and watch you hurt Yuma and Astral!" Thomas told her. "This… this isn't you, Samantha! I know the kind of person you really are!"

"If you're talking about that dumb little village girl I was in my past life, that girl's been dead for a long time." Samantha coldly told him. "This is who I am now."

"I don't believe that!" Thomas told her. "I know that the woman I knew… the woman who I loved in that other life still has to be in there somewhere!"

"Samantha…" Yuma spoke as he started getting back up, getting the redhead's attention. "I don't know you the way Thomas does, but I'm pretty sure that this isn't the real you either. I get why you and the other Death Queens have been doing all this. You… Chitose and Alnia… all of you are angry at the world about what happened in your past lives."

"Quit talking as if you know what makes me tick!" Samantha told him. "You and loverboy down there may have seen how I died in my former life, but that doesn't mean you really know the first thing about me."

"That's not true, Samantha." Yuma told her. "Before this duel is over, Astral and I are gonna break through to the real you!"

* * *

Please review and let me know what you think.


	30. Shining Hope

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.

* * *

Chapter 30: Shining Hope

"Break through to the real me?" Samantha repeated with a cold laugh. "I don't know if one of my last attacks broke your brain or if you're just being a moron like usual. Either way you don't know the first thing about me. For right now, I'm just going to end my turn. I suggest you just shut that mouth of yours and get ready to die like a good boy."

"Astral and I aren't giving up, Samantha! Our comeback starts now!" Yuma declared. As he drew his next card from the deck, it gave off a golden light. "I activate the Spell card, Number Release Wave! By sacrificing a Number, I can destroy all Spell and Trap cards on the field! So I sacrifice Zombiestein to destroy all the Spell and Trap cards you have out!"

"What!" Samantha exclaimed.

Zombiestein began to glow orange and suddenly exploded with a blast of orange-yellow light. The light sent a shockwave across the battlefield that vaporized the trees of the silvery elf forest, burning them to ashes in an instant. The shockwave also shattered the large Trap cards on Samantha's side of the field. When the light faded, Gogogo Golem was the only monster that was still on Yuma's side of the battlefield.

"Now that Mitaka's Xyz Punisher Trap is gone, Yuma can Xyz Summon another monster." Alit noted from up in the skybox.

"Yeah, but he'll have to summon a monster that can take on all those elves." Shark noted. "Those Dark Elf Tokens are easy enough to take down, but their empress still has 3000 ATK."

"I switch Gogogo Golem to Attack Mode!" Yuma announced. His faithful brick monster changed from red to blue. "Next I summon Ganbara Knight in Attack Mode!"

Yuma's shield bearing knight appeared on the field next to Gogogo Golem.

"Using the level four Gogogo Golem and Ganbara Knight, I build the overlay network and Xyz Summon our most faithful monster!" Yuma announced. "Come forth, Number 39: Utopia!"

A galaxy-like vortex appeared in the center of the field and pulled in Yuma's two monsters as balls of gold energy. Moments later, a familiar white and gold sword with two balls of gold light orbiting around it rose from the vortex and changed into Utopia.

"That's your big comeback strategy? Summoning Utopia?" Samantha asked with a raised eyebrow. "You have as much of a chance beating me with that annoying warrior of yours as you do breaking through to the 'real me' like you said you would."

"I know I can break through to who you really are, Samantha!" Yuma declared. "That's because I believe that there really is a good person inside you! And I'm not giving up until I reach that person!"

Suddenly Astral's body turned gold and began to give off a dazzling light. The light was so strong that even the spectators watching the duel could see it. Many of the audience members were murmuring amongst themselves trying to figure out what it was they were seeing.

"Hey Astral. What's with the lightshow?" a surprised Yuma asked.

"Yuma. Your ability to believe in others has allowed me… allowed us… to awaken a new power." Astral explained. "Let us use that power to end this duel!"

Suddenly a golden light began to shine from within the Extra Deck holder attached to Yuma's belt. Yuma opened the case and saw that a new card had appeared inside.

A smirk quickly formed on Yuma's face. "Let's do it!"

With that, Utopia's body began to give off a golden light of its own. The light was so strong that Samantha and Thomas were forced to shield their eyes.

"Using Utopia, we rebuild the overlay network and Xyz Summon a new monster!" Yuma and Astral announced together. "When disorder claims the cosmos, a ray of hope descends to light the chaos! Come forth! Number S39: Utopia Prime!"

A pillar of golden light shot up from the ground around Utopia. When the light faded, the Number Warrior's appearance had changed greatly. His armor was still the same color, only most of the armor covering his torso had become gold. The large piece of armor covering his right shoulder had vanished, but the piece that was covering his left shoulder remained and still bore the number 39. Utopia's armored wings had been replaced by eight diamond-shaped pieces of gold armor that floated behind him and were arranged by the rays of the sun. His helmet had lost its original horns and had taken on a sleeker shape that resembled Kaito's normal hairstyle. Hanging from Utopia's back was a single sword, and orbiting around the warrior were three balls of golden light.

Alnia stood from her seat in the dugout with a look of horror on her face. "What… the hell? How could the envoy have gained the power to summon one of those damn Shining Numbers?"

"That's one flashy Number." Vector remarked up in the skybox. "But it only has an ATK of 2510. Not only is that a weird amount of ATK points, it's still not enough to take down Mitaka's elf empress."

"Do not underestimate the power of a Shining Number, Vector." Mizael told him. "This may be just what Yuma and Astral need to turn the tide of this duel."

"I activate Utopia Prime's effect!" Yuma announced. "When I have at least 3000 or less life points than my opponent, I can pay all but ten life points and detach three of Utopia Prime's overlay units to banish all my opponent's specially summoned monsters! And for each monster taken out by Utopia Prime's effect, my opponent takes 300 points of damage!"

With that, Yuma's life points dropped down to a mere ten. At the same time, the three balls of gold light entered the green gem embedded in the center of Utopia Prime's chest. The Number warrior then gave off a massive blast of golden light that shot across the field at Samantha's elves. All five of the dark elves screamed as the light vaporized them. The light continued on and hit Samantha, nearly knocking her off the stage. When the blast finally faded, Samantha's life points fell to 5300.

"Utopia Prime! Attack Samantha directly!" Yuma commanded. "Hope Sword Shining Slash!"

Utopia Prime drew the sword hanging from his back as he dashed across the field at the redhead. When he came in range, the Shining Number slashed Samantha with his shimmering blade, dropping her life points to 2790.

"I'll set two cards on the field and end my turn." Yuma announced.

"Dammit!" Samantha cursed as she recovered from Utopia Prime's attack.

"I totally get why you're angry, Samantha." Yuma calmly told her. "But this isn't the way to solve anything. Let's just stop this right now."

"Will you SHUT UP!" Samantha shouted.

Suddenly a pair of black-feathered wings appeared on Samantha's back. A blast of crimson energy shot up from the ground around the redhead, surprising the audience. When the light faded, Mitaka had changed to her true Barian form.

"You don't have the first idea about who and what I really am!" Mitaka told Yuma in a cold hate-filled voice. "I am Mitaka of the Barian Death Queens! And I'm going to shut you up once and for all!" The next card that the redhead pulled from her deck flashed with a crimson light. "First I play the Spell card, Witch's Call. By banishing a Spellcaster from my Graveyard, I can summon another one from my deck. So I banish the original Dark Elf to summon Blood Red Witch!"

The red-clothed witch that Mitaka has summoned in her duel with Thomas appeared on the field.

"When Blood Red Witch is special summoned, I can summon another one from my deck." Mitaka continued. A second crimson witch appeared on the battlefield. "When my second Blood Red Witch is summoned, I can summon a third one from my deck!" A third crimson witch appeared next to the other two. "Now I activate the effect of all three Blood Red Witches and raise their levels from three to five!"

"Here it comes. Mitaka's Devil Number." Anna spoke up in the skybox.

"And she'll probably follow that up with the monster she used to defeat me." Alit added.

"Using my three level five monsters, I build the overlay network and Xyz Summon my ultimate monster!" Mitaka announced. "Arise, Number 665: Witch Queen Agatha!"

A large vortex in the form of a red galaxy appeared in the center of the battlefield and pulled in Mitaka's three witches as balls of orange energy. Rising out of the vortex moments later was the black orb with the pin through the center that was the Number's sealed form. Three balls of flame orbited around the orb as it burst into flames and took the form of Witch Queen Agatha.

"I now activate the Spell card, Rank-Up-Magic – The Devil's Triad!" Mitaka announced. "With Devil's Triad, I use Witch Queen Agatha to open the gates of the underworld and rebuild the overlay network to summon a monster one rank higher! Arise! Number C665: Witch Goddess Agatha!"

A pillar of crimson light shot up from the ground around Agatha and a terrifying shriek rang out. The light quickly faded to reveal the witch in her unmasked crimson form. Four balls of flame orbited around the scarred witch as she looked down at Yuma with an evil grin.

"I activate Witch Goddess Agatha's effect!" Mitaka announced. "By detaching one of her overlay units, Agatha can destroy an opponent's effect monster and deal 400 points of damage times its level or rank. But since you only have a mere ten life points left, you'll lose the moment Utopia is burned to ash! Say goodbye, Yuma Tsukumo!"

One of the fireballs orbiting Agatha entered her left eye. A fireball appeared in the witch's right hand and she threw it across the field at Utopia Prime as Mitaka cackled with delight. But before the flaming projectile could hit, a barrier of golden light appeared in front of Utopia Prime and caused it to simply fizzle out as if it had struck the surface of a pond.

"What! What the hell did you do?" an angered Mitaka asked.

"I activated my Trap, Desperate Hope!" Yuma explained. "When a Number monster of mine would be destroyed by a card effect, Desperate Hope negates that effect and saves my monster. And since the monster Desperate Hope protected was a Utopia monster, I get to draw another card."

Mitaka's left eye twitched in annoyance. "You may have protected Utopia from Agatha's effect, but she still has an ATK of 4000! More than enough to destroy you! Agatha, burn Utopia Prime to Ashes! Vengeful Firestorm!"

"I activate my Trap, Negate Attack!" Yuma quickly announced. "This card cancels Agatha's attack and ends the Battle Phase!"

Agatha let loose a massive storm of crimson flames across the field at Utopia Prime. But before the tidal wave of fire could strike, a vortex appeared in front of the Number warrior and sucked all of the flames in. It took several seconds for the vortex to do its job before it finally vanished.

"It's not going to be that easy to stop us, Samantha." Yuma told her. "I told you, I'm not giving up until I reach the real you."

"You are going to feel so much pain before you die!" a frustrated Mitaka told him. "For now, I'll end my turn."

"Yuma, this will not end until we break the curse of Mitaka's Number." Astral told him. "As I hoped we would, we have gained the means to do just that."

"I know. The Shining Numbers are somehow able to break the curse of the Devil Numbers. We saw that when Alit beat Chitose with his Shining Number." Yuma recalled. "But Utopia Prime isn't strong enough to take down Witch Goddess Agatha."

"We already have the solution to that in our deck." Astral told him.

"You mean that card you had me put in before this duel?" Yuma asked.

"Indeed. I had you put that card in the deck in preparation for this duel." Astral revealed. "That card, along with the Number I added to our Extra Deck, will break the curse of Number 665 and finally bring this duel to an end."

"Okay, but… if this works, than the same thing that happened to Chitose will probably happen to Samantha." Yuma pointed out.

"There's no helping that now, I'm afraid." Astral gravely replied. "We'll just have to revive her after we defeat Alnia in the final round."

"Well… okay then. Let's do it!" Yuma decided.

With that, Astral turned into a blue ball of light while Yuma turned into a ball of red light. The two balls took off into the air and collided with each other, exploding and changing into Yuma's orange-haired armored form. Then, as the newly transformed Yuma pulled the next card from his deck, it gave off a brilliant flash of golden light.

"I equip Utopia Prime with the Spell card, Number Armor!" Yuma announced. "By discarding four cards from my hand, Number Armor lets me equip Utopia with another Number from my Extra Deck! I equip Utopia Prime with Number 88: Gimmick Puppet of Leo!"

Suddenly appearing behind Utopia was a large mechanical monster with a blue and gold humanoid body. It had a head resembling a lion with a white mask-like face and a gold mane. In his right hand, it held an ornate gold and silver sword with a spherical green gem fitted into the front of the guard. The creature had on a white toga with red fringe, and hanging down from its back was a long white cape with a red underside. The armor that adorned the monster's right shoulder bore the number 88 in blue alien writing.

"Wh-what the hell?" a shocked Mitaka asked. "Don't tell me that's…"

"This is one of the Numbers that Thomas used during the Number War." Yuma confirmed, finishing the redhead's thought. "Astral figured out that the memories from Thomas's past life are embedded in all three of the Numbers he used, so he put Gimmick Puppet of Leo in our Extra Deck hoping that we could somehow use it to break through to you."

Gimmick Puppet of Leo turned into a cluster of gold lights that flew about and struck Utopia Prime, causing him to transform. Utopia Prime's helmet had changed to look like the head of Number 88, with his masked face appearing through the lion's open mouth. The piece of armor that had been covering Leo's right shoulder had appeared on Utopia Prime's right shoulder. The fringed toga that Number 88 wore appeared on Utopia Prime's body, and the sword he normally wielded changed to that of Leo's.

"Thanks to Number Armor, Utopia Prime gains Gimmick Puppet of Leo's ATK." Yuma continued. "Which means his ATK goes up to 5710."

"So… so what?" Mitaka asked, trying to seem unconcerned. "You might be able to take down Agatha with, but I'll still have a few life points left after your attack ends."

"Sorry, but you're wrong." Yuma told her. "When a monster equipped with Number Armor attacks another Number, it gains that Number's ATK during the battle. That means when Utopia Prime attacks Agatha, his ATK will jump to 9710."

Mitaka's eyes went wide with terror. "This… this can't be happening!"

"Utopia Prime! Attack Witch Goddess Agatha!" Yuma commanded. "Hope Sword Leo Slash!"

With his sword raised, Utopia Prime charged across the battlefield and slashed Agatha across the chest. Mitaka suddenly clutched her chest as if she had been slashed as well. As Mitaka's life points dropped to zero, cracks of gold light began to form all over Agatha's body. Those same cracks began to form all over Mitaka's body as well. Mitaka screamed, as both she and Witch Goddess Agatha appeared to explode with a blinding flash of white light.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I really had to change my plans a lot when it came to having Yuma and Astral's Shining Numbers show up in this story. Originally, Utopia Prime was going to show up during Yuma's duel with Hikari. But when the time finally came to do the outline for that duel, I had a lot of difficulty figuring out how to work Utopia Prime in. Plus I realized that since the duel between Yuma and Hikari was a very friendly one, it would've been the wrong place for Utopia Prime to make his debut. I had also originally planned for Yuma to use a Shining form of one of the Gimmick Puppet Numbers to beat Mitaka, but I had a really hard time to figure out how that was going to work with Yuma's deck. When the time came to outline the duel between Yuma and Mitaka, I had a vision of Utopia wearing Number 88 as armor, and that's where the Number Armor card came from.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	31. After the Burning

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.

* * *

Chapter 31: After the Burning

 _When the light from the explosion of Witch Goddess Agatha finally died down, Yuma and Astral found that they were standing (or floating, in Astral's case) in the middle of a small and rather rustic-looking house. Sitting in a wooden chair by an unlit fireplace was a man in his early forties with fairly long pale blonde hair. To Yuma, the man bore a slight resemblance to Thomas and Michael's father, Byron Arclight before an unplanned trip to the Barian World had deformed him into an impish man-child with a hole showing a miniature starscape where half his face used to be. The man was reading what appeared to be a bible through a pair of wireframe spectacles. From the man's outfit, Yuma and Astral had realized they were seeing another image from Samantha's past life._

 _"What the hell are we doing back here?" a familiar voice asked from behind. Both Yuma and Astral turned to see Samantha standing behind them in her modern clothes._

 _"Samantha, do you know that guy?" Yuma asked, pointing a thumb back at the man in the chair._

 _"Yeah. That's Adam's father, Gideon Smith." Samantha answered. "So you're going to make me live through remembering this hell again for beating me? Is that it?"_

 _"Samantha, I do not believe that these are your memories we're witnessing, but Thomas's." Astral informed her. "I believe that one of his former Numbers resonated with yours during that last attack. What we're seeing might be his side of the story from your past life."_

 _"Yeah? Well I don't need to hear it." Samantha told them._

 _Just then, a young man who looked like Thomas walked into the room. Yuma could tell from the missing scar from his face that this was in fact Thomas's previous incarnation, Adam Smith._

 _"You wanted to see me, father?" Adam asked, causing Gideon to look up from his book._

 _"Adam, my son. I'm afraid I have some unfortunate news for you." Gideon spoke gravely as he shut the book on his lap. "Samantha Warren has been accused of witchcraft."_

 _A look of shock and disbelief appeared on Adam's face. "What? That's… that's impossible! I know Samantha! She would never practice the dark arts!"_

 _"The evidence against Samantha is compelling." Gideon told him as he rose from his chair. "Martha Proctor says that she has been trying to curse her to death for the past two nights."_

 _"I don't believe that!" Adam denied. "Why would Martha make an accusation like that?"_

 _"She has no reason to lie. In fact, she has always been an honest young woman." Gideon replied with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "But whether or not there is any truth to these accusations, your task now is very clear. You must renounce the girl, Adam."_

 _"Renounce Samantha as a witch?" Adam asked, the color seeming to drain from his face. "I… no! I could never…!"_

 _"My son," Gideon spoke as he put a hand on Adam's shoulder, "I know how you feel about the girl. Samantha's father is one of my oldest and dearest friends, and your marriage to her would have united our two families. But the time has come to look out for your own interests. These are dangerous times we live in, Adam. I don't know if there are truly witches living among us or not, but it's clear that the people of this village intend to burn every last person who seems even the least bit unholy until they believe the threat has been purged. Unless you renounce Samantha, you could very well be the next one put on trial."_

 _"But… father, I love her!" Adam told him. "I can't just abandon her like that!"_

 _Gideon sighed and shook his head. "I know it is hard, Adam, but this is what you must do. If you do not, you may be charged just as Samantha has been, and I may be forced to renounce you. Think hard, my son. I know that God will show you the path you must take."_

 _With that, Gideon handed Adam the bible he was reading and walked out of the room. As soon as he left, the surrounding room turned into a mist along with Adam. When the mist reformed, Yuma, Astral and Samantha were outside of another small rustic farmhouse. It was quite early in the morning, and Martha was at that moment emerging from the front door of the house. A look of anger and disgust appeared on Samantha's face instantly appeared when she saw the other young woman. At that moment, Adam showed up and was running towards Martha._

 _"Martha! I must speak with you!" Adam told her._

 _"Samantha's trial is about to begin." Martha told him. "I'm needed to testify."_

 _"I know, but that is why I must talk to you." Adam told her. "I've been trying to figure out why you would accuse such a good woman as Samantha of cursing you with black magic."_

 _"Why? Because it's true." Martha told him flatly. "I don't know why she suddenly started to go after me like that, but I am not lying about this Adam. Samantha has been trying to kill me."_

 _"I'll never believe that." Adam insisted. "There has to be another explanation."_

 _"I'm not surprised that you wouldn't believe that Samantha's a witch." Martha told him. "After all, she's probably placed a curse on you too."_

 _"What do you mean?" Adam asked._

 _"Don't you see? She's bewitched your mind!" Martha stated as if the answer were obvious. "This whole time she's had you under a spell that made you fall in love with her! Its no wonder at all that you're blind to the truth even when it's right in front of you."_

 _"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!" Adam told her. "How could you even think that…?"_

 _Before Adam could finish his sentence, Martha started to convulse as if she was having some kind of seizure. In seconds she was down on the ground, flopping around like a fish that had been reeled in and thrown to the floor of a boat. Adam was alarmed by Martha's sudden fit. Meanwhile Samantha was just standing there with her arms crossed, rolling her eyes._

 _"I can't believe he bought into this shit." Samantha spoke. "The people of this village were so stupid."_

 _"No! Samantha! Please stop! PLEASE!" Martha begged as she continued to thrash on the ground._

 _Suddenly Martha let out a blood-curdling scream that shocked Adam to his very core. She then became totally silent and stiff as a board, her eyes seemingly frozen open with a look of terror. After a few moments, Adam approached and knelt down towards her. He placed an ear to her chest to find that her heart was not beating. A split second after Adam sat back up, Martha suddenly shot up as well, taking in a sharp breath like someone who had been suffocated._

 _"Martha, are… are you okay?" Adam asked as she caught her breath._

 _"No I'm not okay." Martha told him. "Samantha almost killed me again from her cell. The next time I have one of these attacks could be the last. If Samantha is not burned for her sin of witchcraft soon, it'll be my death… and your damnation."_

 _With that, Martha got up and walked off, leaving Adam totally stunned. Everything around Yuma and the others changed to mist again, and soon they found themselves before an all too familiar scene. Samantha's past incarnation had just been tied to the steak where she was to be burned. A dead look was in the redhead's eyes and the card for Number 665 was in her hands. Astral noticed that this time around they were standing right behind Adam._

 _Once again the executioner with the torch set the pile of dead wood at the old Samantha's feet ablaze. Then, just as they saw them do last time, Yuma and Astral watched as the villagers began to sing a hymn, every villager that was except for Adam. Instead, the young man stood silently and watched with an expression of shock as the flames consumed his former lover. Seconds later, one of the pieces of burning wood popped and gave off a spark that caught the left side of the old Samantha's face. The redhead screamed in pain and looked at the crowd of singing villagers with hate-filled eyes._

 _"You…" Samantha spoke in a low hateful voice as a tear rolled down her other cheek. "YOU ALL DESERVE TO DIE!"_

 _Samantha's past life counterpart was completely consumed by the flames in what seemed like seconds. Meanwhile the Samantha who had been watching the flashback with Yuma and Astral looked down at the ground with the same hate-filled eyes that her former incarnation had looked at the villagers with before she died. Samantha was so busy looking at the ground that she did not notice Adam slowly walking away. Soon after, the scene changed again and the three found that they were standing in what looked like a kitchen. Adam was standing in front of the counter with a totally blank expression._

 _At that moment, Martha walked in. "Hello Adam. Your father told me that I might find you here."_

 _"…What're you doing here?" Adam asked, not once turning to look at her._

 _"I've been worried about you." Martha answered. "Hardly anyone in the village has seen you out in a week. Not since… well, you know."_

 _"Since Samantha was burned as a witch, you mean." Adam stated, still not turning to look at her. "You said my love for her was an illusion, a curse that she placed on me. Well if that is true, then why do I feel like I've had this gaping hole in my chest since she died?"_

 _Martha walked up and put her arms around him from behind. "Oh my dear Adam, I know you're in pain right now, but it will fade soon. The important thing is that we can be together now."_

 _A look of surprise appeared on Adam's face as he finally turned to face Martha. "What are you talking about?"_

 _"I can keep my feelings a secret from you no longer, Adam. I've been in love with you for many years." Martha admitted. "I always wanted to tell you, but I lacked the courage to do so. Then Samantha came between us. But now that she's gone…"_

 _"Wait a moment. Martha, did you… did you_ lie _about Samantha cursing you?" Adam asked._

 _A look of shame crossed Martha's face. "I know it was wrong, but I was left with no other choice! When I saw you propose to Samantha that day, I… I had to do something to keep from losing you!"_

 _"But… your heart! I heard it stop beating!" a stunned Adam recalled._

 _"That was a trick Samantha and I learned years ago from a traveling performer who passed through the village." Martha explained. "We learned how to do it as sort of a game. Adam, I'm truly sorry but I did what I had to do. I can only hope that you and God can forgive me."_

 _Adam's face suddenly seemed to become calm. He glanced back at a large knife that was sitting on the table behind him. Suddenly he grabbed the knife, pushed Martha to the floor and got on top of her. Adam started stabbing Martha repeatedly in the chest as his eyes clouded over with anger, the knife going up and down in swift brutal strikes. Martha screamed for Adam to stop, but her cries were falling on deaf ears. Yuma and Astral watched with shock and disbelief as Adam's face, hands and shirt became covered in blood. Samantha meanwhile looked at the scene with a mixture of shock and confusion, and then before she knew it she had burst into an almost hysterical laughter._

 _After stabbing Martha what seemed like a hundred times, Adam got back to his feet as he caught his breath. Yuma and Astral were both left totally speechless at what they had just witnessed._

 _Samantha finally stopped laughing and walked over to Martha's corpse. "Serves you right, you bitch. You should've been the one to burn, not me."_

 _The redhead attempted to kick Martha in the head, but her foot passed right through as if the girl's body was made of air._

 _At that moment, Gideon entered the kitchen and saw the grizzly scene. "Dear Lord! Adam! What in God's name have you done?"_

 _Adam looked at his father with anger still clouding his eyes. "You… it's your fault she's gone too! Who were you thinking of when you told me to renounce the woman I loved as a witch? Were you thinking of me, or were you only thinking of keeping yourself from being accused of witchcraft?"_

 _Adam was already advancing on Gideon with his bloody knife raised. Gideon begged for Adam to stop as he was backed against the wall, but his pleas for mercy weren't heard any more than Martha's had been. Adam stabbed Gideon several times in the chest, not as many times he had stabbed Martha but certainly enough times for the damage to be fatal. When Adam's assault finally ended, Gideon's body slid down the wall as blood ran down from the corners of his mouth. At that moment Adam finally started to regain his senses. He looked at the blood covering his hands and the horror of what he had done started to sink in._

 _"Wait, hold on. There's something I'm not getting here." Samantha spoke. "Why did Adam suddenly kill that slut Martha and his father?"_

 _Yuma finally came to his own senses and looked at the redhead in disbelief. "Are… are you kidding? Samantha, I may not be the smartest guy in the world, but even I get why Thomas… why Adam did all this! He was mad that he got tricked into selling you out as a witch! He loved you, a lot it seems like, and he was mad that Martha managed to trick everyone, even him, into killing you for something you didn't do!"_

 _The surroundings suddenly changed again, and this time Yuma and the others found that they were out behind the house they had just been inside. Before them was a large oak tree with a long sturdy branch that grew a little more than half way up the trunk. Adam was walking towards the tree, his face and hands still covered in blood. In his hands, the young man carried a wooden chair with a coiled piece of rope sitting on it. Adam passed through Samantha as if she wasn't there and set chair down in front of the tree. He then took the rope and began to tie one end of it into a noose._

 _"Wait! What's he doing?" Samantha asked. "He's not seriously going to…"_

 _When he finished tying the noose, Adam threw the rope over the branch so that the noose was hanging down. He then stood on the chair and put his head through the rope. After tightening the noose, Adam kicked the chair away. Yuma and the others could only look on as Adam's body hung from the tree._

 _"No, this… this is wrong!" Samantha declared. "Why… why did Adam do that? Why would he just end it all?"_

 _"It seems… he could not live with the horrible crimes he had just committed." Astral assumed. "Nor without having you in his life. Samantha, it would seem that your assumption that love was only an illusion… has just been proven false."_

 _Samantha said nothing as a single tear rolled down her cheek. Just then a blinding light emanated from Adam's body and washed over the entire area._

* * *

The light faded and Yuma and Astral were back on the tournament stage. Samantha was standing across from them in her human form. Their monsters had disappeared from the battlefield and many of the audience members were talking amongst themselves trying to figure out what had just happened.

"Um… the winner of the duel is, Yuma Tsukumo!" the referee finally declared.

As the audience started to cheer, Samantha began to collapse. Before she could hit the floor and before Yuma could reach her, Thomas jumped up from the bottom of the stage and caught her.

"Are you okay?" a concerned Thomas asked.

"Why?" Samantha responded. "Why did you hang yourself back then?"

"Oh, that? It's because I couldn't live without you." Thomas answered, knowing very well what Samantha was talking about. "Or with the fact that I let you die for something you didn't do. I don't blame you for being angry with me, Samantha. I was such a dumbass back then. I probably still am now."

"But… you still feel the same way about me as you did then?" Samantha asked.

"Of course I do." Thomas asked as tears came to his eyes. "I still love you, Samantha. And I hope that… maybe we can have a second chance."

Samantha let out a dry chuckle. "A second chance, huh? That might've been nice. But… it looks like this time… I was the dumbass. I'm… happy that I got to see you again in this life, Thomas Arclight."

Suddenly Samantha turned into a ball of light that flew off towards the dugout that Alnia was in. Alnia watched as the ball of light entered her chest.

"Damn you, Tsukumo!" Alnia cursed. "You and the Envoy are gonna pay for this in blood!"

Meanwhile, Yuma and Astral approached Thomas. "Hey Thomas, you okay?"

Thomas turned to look at Astral with a serious expression. "Astral, you can use the Numeron Code to bring Samantha back, right? Just like you did with Ryoga and the Barian Emperors?"

"Yes, but only after Alnia is defeated." Astral answered. "Until then, I can do nothing."

"Then you and Yuma better win!" Thomas told them, and with that he walked off the stage.

"The final duel of the Millennium Tournament will be held in twenty minutes!" the referee announced.

"Well, I guess it's finally here." Yuma realized. "In a little bit, we're finally going to duel Alnia."

"Yes, our long conflict with the Barian Death Queens will finally be resolved soon." Astral replied. "The fate of the world will depend on our victory."

"Then we better win." Yuma told him. "For the sake of Alit, Thomas and everyone else, we need to take Alnia down."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I just realized a funny little coincidence about this chapter and the chapter that showed the original flashback of Samantha's past life, Chapter 15. If you take the number for this chapter, 31, and add the three and the one together, you get the number four. Also, the number 15 could be seen as the Roman numeral for the number four. It's rather appropriate since both these chapters had a great deal to do with Thomas. It's an even better coincidence since number fifteen is also the number for one of Thomas's original Gimmick Puppet monsters. I didn't plan for the chapters to be numbered this way, it's just a happy accident.

Anyway, the climactic duel between Yuma and Alnia is up next. I'll try and get the next chapter up as soon as I can, but it might take me a little while. It'll probably take some time to plan out the next duel.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	32. Legacy of Kul Elna

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.

* * *

Chapter 32: Legacy of Kul Elna

The atmosphere at Heartland Stadium was not the type of atmosphere that one would normally expect before the final round of a big duel tournament. There was a hint of excitement in the air, but it was nowhere near the level of excitement that there should be. This was because much of the spectators had begun to realize one simple fact: The tournament they were watching was not normal. There was, in the beginning, a collective sense of denial among the audience members. They had written off the transformations of the Death Queens into their Barian forms and Yuma and Astral's ZEXAL transformations as some sort of special visual effects for the duels and nothing more, but as time went on that assumption was getting harder and harder to believe. That had been especially true after contestants like Michael and Gauche ended up in the hospital after Alnia's duels. Those who had been watching the tournament for the very beginning started to realize that there was something much bigger going on, and it was making them a bit nervous.

Of course Yuma and his friends knew exactly what was really at stake in the Millennium Tournament. Yuma knew very well that if he lost, the world would very well be condemned to eternal darkness. It was for that very reason why Yuma and Astral were going over their deck one last time as the break between duels began to wind down.

"I sure hope we're ready for this, Astral." Yuma told his energy-based friend.

"Indeed. Alnia is the most aggressive opponent we've ever faced." Astral replied. "It will likely take everything we have just to block her attacks."

"The final duel of the Millennium Tournament shall now begin!" the referee announced. "Please give a round of applause for our first competitor, Yuma Tsukumo!"

The audience members began to cheer as Yuma headed back to the stage with Astral. Yuma waved to them a bit as he stepped up.

"And now… please welcome back our second competitor in the final round, Alnia!" the referee announced.

No one cheered as Alnia headed out to the stage. Instead, many of them booed her as she walked out to face Yuma. Alnia ignored the negative reaction of the spectators of course. She didn't care one bit about what everyone else thought about her. All she was interested in was defeating Yuma and taking the Numeron Code from Astral.

As soon as she stepped on stage, Alnia looked at Yuma with a psychotic grin. "I've been waiting far too long for this. Maybe I should've just come at the two of you right away instead of bothering with all this tournament crap. Maybe if I did, Anitak and Mitaka would still be here. Ah well. All that matters now is that I finally get to kill you two and give the people of this world the punishment they deserve."

"Alnia! Before we begin, there is something that I think you must know." Astral informed her. "Yuma and I saw a vision of the Kul Elna massacre through the Tablet of Memories. You should know that Pharaoh Atem and his father knew nothing about how the Millennium Items were forged. The high priest, Akhenaden acted on his own."

Alnia 's grin immediately turned to a scowl. "So what? It doesn't make a difference whether that damn pharaoh and his father knew about the massacre or not. They're still just as guilty! That old priest you're talking about was the pharaoh's uncle! Your great hero king is still guilty by blood! And besides… even though Atem didn't participate in the massacre of my village… he's till responsible for killing my baby brother!"

"Wait… brother?" a surprised Yuma asked. "You mean that king of thieves guy?"

"That's right. I'm actually kinda proud of my brother for becoming that." Alnia confirmed with a cold chuckle. "Thanks to my Number, I know about everything that happened after I died that time. My brother somehow survived the massacre and grew to become the king of thieves to avenge all of us. He tried to take the Millennium Items to summon Lord Zorc and destroy that damn kingdom! He came so close too… until that damn pharaoh and his priests killed him trying to take back the Millennium Items he took!"

"But Alnia… I'm sure Atem didn't want to kill your brother." Yuma told her. "He and his friends were probably just fighting to protect what was important to them."

"And was what my brother was fighting for any less important?" Alnia shot back. "He was the sole survivor of our village. When he died… that damn pharaoh finished the job that his uncle started."

"Alnia's hatred is truly boundless." Astral observed. "Talking to her isn't going to do us any good."

"I guess not." Yuma reluctantly agreed. "But there's gotta be some way to get through to her!"

"Let the duel begin!" the referee finally announced.

With that, Yuma activated his D-Gazer and duel disk. At the same time, a pair of red-feathered wings appeared on Alnia's back, and in a flash of crimson light she changed to her true Barian form, complete with her duel disk. The unsettled audience members activated their own D-Gazers to watch and the duel began.

"I'll start this off since you two spent all that time trying to defend that damn pharaoh." Alnia decided as she drew her first card. "I summon Archfiend Mummy Solider in Attack Mode!"

Appearing on Alnia's side of the battlefield was a skeletal humanoid demon with dark-grey skin and a skull-like face with yellow eyes. Much of his body was wrapped in brown linen bandages. He had on a gold helmet and gold armor covered his chest and shoulders. In his right hand, the mummified demon carried a double-bladed axe, and in his right hand was a small golden shield.

"When I've summoned Archfiend Mummy Solider normally, I can add another Fiend-type monster to my hand!" Alnia announced. "I set two cards on the field and end my turn!"

"We must be cautious, Yuma." Astral told him. "The two cards that Alnia set on the field could prove deadly."

"You don't have to tell me." Yuma replied as he drew his first card. "I summon Goblindberg in Attack Mode!"

Yuma's small goblin pilot came flying down from above in his red plane. A large steel box dangled down from beneath the plane.

"When I've summoned Goblindberg, I can special summon a level four monster from my hand!" Yuma announced. "I summon Gogogo Golem!"

Goblindberg dropped his plane's heavy cargo and landed on Yuma's side of the field. The metal crate landed with a thud and fell open, revealing Yuma's one-eyed brick golem.

"Using the level four Goblindberg and Gogogo Golem, I build the overlay network and Xyz Summon Number 52: Diamond Crab King!" Yuma announced.

A galaxy-like vortex appeared in the center of the battlefield and pulled in Yuma's two monsters as balls of yellow energy. A large crystal formation with two balls of blue light orbiting around it rose from the center of the vortex and changed into Yuma's giant blue crab.

"I activate Diamond Crab King's effect!" Yuma announced. "By detaching one of his overlay units, Diamond Crab King's ATK and DEF are switched until the end of the turn!"

One of the balls of light orbiting the crab entered the large crystal on his back. Diamond Crab King's eyes began to glow and his body changed from blue to red.

"Here goes nothing! Diamond Crab King, attack Archfiend Mummy Solider!" Yuma commanded. "Diamond Bubble!"

The giant crab spat out a barrage of bubbles at Alnia's undead soldier. Upon being struck, the solider exploded with a blast of smoke that washed out Alnia's side of the field. The attack caused Alnia's life points to drop to 2800. But when the smoke from the attack cleared, a new monster had appeared in place of Archfiend Mummy Solider. The creature was a large demon with scaly grey skin the color of volcanic ash. The demon's lower half resembled the body of an insect with six long legs. It had a muscular torso and a left arm with a relatively normal five-fingered hand. The creature's right arm though was like the arm of a scorpion, complete with a large claw. Three long spikes grew from each of the creature's shoulders, and a pair of longer spikes grew from its back. Its head had a pair of black horns, and its face was a pair of small yellow eyes and a large mouth filled with sharp white fangs.

"What the heck?" a startled Yuma exclaimed.

"When I've taken battle damage, I can special summon Tragoedia from my hand." Alnia explained.

"Why didn't she activate either of those cards she set last turn?" Yuma wondered.

"I do not know." A surprised Astral answered.

"It looks like Alnia is just toying with Yuma and Astral at this point." Kaito observed grimly up in the skybox.

"So were those cards she set just a bluff?" Kotori wondered.

"Maybe." Droite replied. "But bluff or not, I think Alnia wanted Yuma to damage her so she could summon Tragoedia."

"There's a little known fact about Tragoedia that most people don't know." Alnia revealed. "He was brought into existence by another survivor from my village."

"You mean Tragoedia was created by someone else from Kul Elna?" Yuma asked.

"Yep. He was a scout who infiltrated the pharaoh's court as an astronomer." Alnia explained. "His job was to find out all he could about the pharaoh's tomb and report back to my village about its secrets. The treasures we would've looted probably would've kept us fed for another season. But while this scout was on his mission, my people were slaughtered to forge the Millennium Items. When he found out what happened, he tried to kill the pharaoh to get revenge but was caught. His hatred created Tragoedia, which those damn priests barely managed to seal away."

"Is that why you let our attack succeed? So we could see the incarnation of hate from one of your fellow villagers?" Astral asked.

"Maybe…" Alnia answered. If her mouth had still been on her face, it would've curved into a smirk. "Maybe I've got another reason. Either way, you'll know soon enough."

"After Diamond Crab King attacks, he switches to Defense Mode!" Yuma announced. "I set two cards on the field and end my turn!"

At the moment Yuma's turn ended, Diamond Crab King's body changed back to its original blue color.

Alnia drew her next card. "I activate Spellbooks from the Pot, letting us both draw three more cards! Tragoedia's ATK is 600 times the number of cards in my hand. And since I now hold six cards, his ATK becomes 3600."

"Tragoedia's ATK may be higher than Diamond Crab King's DEF now, but he can't destroy him since Tragoedia's not a Number!" Yuma pointed out.

"Who said I was going to attack you with Tragoedia?" Alnia asked. "I activate Tragoedia's effect! By targeting a monster in my Graveyard, I can change his level to match that monster's until the end of the turn! I target Archfiend Mummy Solider, changing Tragoedia's level to four! Now I activate Archfiend Mummy Soldier's effect and summon him back from the Graveyard!"

A skeletal hand wielding a familiar double-bladed axe burst from the ground on Alnia's side of the field. In moments, Archfiend Mummy Soldier had risen from the Grave and was standing next to Tragoedia.

"Now she has two level four monsters!" Yuma realized.

"I overlay my level four Tragoedia and Archfiend Mummy Soldier to Xyz Summon another monster from my fallen brethren!" Alnia announced. "Come to me, Bandit Guardian Daibound!"

A golden vortex appeared in the center of the battlefield and pulled in Alnia's two monsters as balls of purple energy. Rising out of the center of the vortex moments later was a porcelain-colored creature with a muscular upper body and two balls of lavender-colored light orbiting around it. It had a heroic-looking face and a gold helmet with white-feathered wings decorating the sides and a silver spike projecting from the front above the creature's forehead. Covering the creature's muscular chest was a piece of gold armor resembling the face of a skull. It lower half was a serpent-like tail ending with the head of a cobra.

"This monster's original form was given life by my little brother." Alnia revealed. "It was his guardian spirit… and this incarnation is going to help me bury you in this duel! I activate one of Bandit Guardian Diabound's effects! When he's Xyz Summoned, he can let me take a monster from my opponent's Extra Deck and attach it to him as an overlay unit! And the monster I choose is Number 39: Utopia!"

Before Yuma could react, the cobra head on Daibound's tail swooped in and bit the Extra Deck holder on Yuma's belt. The deck holder opened and the card for Utopia flew out, changing into a ball of lavender light that was pulled into Diabound's orbit."

"Now you can't use that damn Shining Number of yours against me." Alnia told them.

"Does the power of our Number frighten you that much, Alnia?" Astral asked.

"I find it a pain in the ass!" Alnia responded. "Now I activate Diabound's effect! By detaching an overlay unit, Diabound destroys all Spell and Trap cards on the field! Sprial Wave!"

One of the balls of light orbiting Diabound entered the spike on his helmet. The guardian demon flexed his chest and a wave of wind spiraled out from around him, shattering all the Spell and Trap cards on the field. The wind gust also nearly knocked Yuma off the stage.

"Diabound gains 500 ATK for each card he destroyed with his effect until the end of my opponent's turn." Alnia announced. "Which means his ATK goes up from 2500 to 4500!"

"This was Alnia's plan from the beginning!" Astral realized. "The reason she set those cards on the field before was so she could use them to power up Diabound's ATK!"

"I attack Diamond Crab King with Bandit Guardian Diabound!" Alnia announced. "And when Diabound battles a Number monster, he automatically destroys it at the start of the Damage Step!"

The mouth of the cobra head on Diabound's tail opened and sprayed a purple liquid at Diamond Crab King. Upon being hit with the liquid, the crab turned into a white powder that blew away in the breeze.

"The legacy of my village is carried in my deck. And I'm going to use that legacy to make this world crumble!" Alnia declared. "I activate the Spell card, Shifting Darkness! With this card I shuffle three Dark monsters back into my deck to add three new Dark monsters to my hand. That ends my turn."

"Alnia, I totally get where your anger is coming from. But doing all this won't bring back your village!" Yuma pointed out. "It won't bring back your brother!"

"It'll punish this sorry world for the way it treated us!" Alnia retorted. "In life, the people of Egypt treated us like nothing but trash. And it was because we were trash that we were chosen as sacrifices to create the Millennium Items! Now this world has all but forgotten about us and made the ones who butchered us into heroes! I'm going to make every person on this planet pay for that! Now make your move!"

Yuma drew his next card. "I summon Gagaga Magician in Attack Mode!" Yuma's silver-haired magician appeared on the battlefield. "I activate Gagaga Magician's effect and change his level from four to eight! Next I play the Spell card, Gagaga x Gagaga and summon it to the field as a level eight monster!"

A negative-colored copy of Gagaga Magician appeared on the field next to the original one.

"I use my two level eight monsters to build the overlay network and Xyz Summon Number 23: Lancelot, Dark Knight of the Underworld!" Yuma announced.

A purple galaxy-like vortex appeared in the center of the field and pulled in Yuma's two monsters as balls of blue energy. A white shield with two balls of purple light orbiting around it rose from the vortex and transformed into Yuma and Astral's skeletal white knight.

"Since Lancelot has overlay units, he can attack my opponent directly!" Yuma announced. "Lancelot, attack Alnia! Phantom Rapier!"

Lancelot raised his sword in salute to Alnia right before vanishing. Less than a second later, the undead knight appeared in front of Alnia and stabbed her in the chest. Alnia's life points took a heavy drop to 800.

"Now I activate Lancelot's other effect!" Yuma announced. "Since he just inflicted battle damage, Lancelot can destroy one monster my opponent controls! I choose to destroy Bandit Guardian Diabound!"

Lancelot turned and struck Diabound several times with his rapier. Several cracks appeared in the demon guardian's body as the assault went on, and in seconds Diabound shattered to bits.

Alnia began to chuckle. "Because Diabound was just destroyed, I can summon a Fiend-type monster from my hand. I summon Archfiend Scarab Solider!" One of the demonic insect soldiers that Alnia used in her duel with Gauche appeared on the field. "When Archfiend Scarab Solider is special summoned, I can summon another one from my hand. And when the second one is summoned, I can summon a third from my hand!"

Two more of the demonic scarab warriors appeared on Alnia's side of the field.

"She's going to summon her Number next." Astral realized. "And perhaps even more than that."

Yuma nodded at Astral and turned his attention back to Alnia. "I end my turn!"

As Alnia drew her next card, it gave off a flash of crimson light. "Using my three level six Archfiend Scarab Soldiers, I build the overlay network and Xyz Summon my ultimate monster! Arise, Number 666: Archfiend Pharaoh Lucifer!"

A red galaxy-like vortex appeared in the center of the battlefield and pulled in Alnia's three monsters as balls of red energy. Moments later, the tablet of the Millennium Items rose from the vortex with three balls of gold light orbiting around it, shattering apart to become Alnia's demonic pharaoh.

"Now I activate Rank-Up-Magic – The Devil's Triad!" Alnia announced. Using Archfiend Pharaoh Lucifer, I open the underworld to rebuild the overlay network and Xyz Summon a monster one rank higher! Arise, Number C666: Black Solar Dragon Lucifer!"

A massive pillar of crimson light shot up from the ground around the demon pharaoh and a horrid roar could be heard from within. The pillar of light expanded outward and became pitch-black in a matter of seconds. Hikari and Cleo's Signer marks immediately lit up in the skybox. In moments the energy faded to reveal a black metal sphere with four balls of silvery-white light orbiting around it. The sphere cracked open and unfolded into the skeletal dragon form of Alnia's Number.

"Get ready, Tsukumo!" Alnia spoke. "I'm about to send you and the Envoy into eternal darkness!"

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I realized when it came close to the time of writing this chapter that it was a good call to have Alnia turn out to be Thief King Bakura's older sister, since it gave her another reason to hate Atem besides the Kul Elna massacre. That was something that hadn't occurred to me early on in the story. Anyway, we're now getting into the home stretch of this story, so stay tuned.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	33. Invincible Hope

**Author's Note:** Sorry it took so long for me to bring everyone this update now that we're so close to the end of this story. Long story short, I had a really nasty week last week and hardly had any time to write.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.

* * *

Chapter 33: Invincible Hope

"I activate Black Solar Dragon Lucifer's effect!" Alnia announced. "By detaching an overlay unit, Lucifer sends all other monsters on the field to the Graveyard!"

One of the balls of light orbiting the skeletal dragon entered the Millennium Ring on his chest. Waves of silvery light radiated from Lucifer's body as he let out an echoing roar. Lancelot turned to black mist upon being hit by the energy waves and simply faded away. Soon after, Yuma and Astral's life points rose to 6000.

"You gain life points equal to your undead knight's ATK thanks to Lucifer's effect, but those life points won't save you." Alnia continued. "That's because Lucifer's effect summons four Underworld Soldiers to the field!"

Four skeletal hands burst from the earth on Alnia's side of the field. In moments, four floating armored skeletons baring swords had risen to aid the Barian Death Queen.

"This ends now!" Alnia declared. "Attack him directly, my soldiers of the dead! Cut him to pieces!"

"It's not over yet, Alnia!" Yuma declared as the skeletons flew towards him. "Since I'm being attacked directly, I summon Gagaga Guardna from my hand in Defense Mode!"

Just as the Underworld Soldiers came in striking range, Gagaga Guardna appeared on the field with his shield raised. With their attack blocked, the skeletons flew back across the field.

"As if your little barrier monster can stop me! Lucifer, obliterate that thing!" Alnia ordered. "Breath of the Void!"

"I activate Gagaga Guardna's effect!" Yuma announced. "By discarding a card, I can keep Gagaga Guardna from being destroyed in battle this turn!"

The demon dragon opened his boney jaws and fired a massive beam of black crackling energy down at Yuma's monster. A transparent sphere like a bubble appeared around Gagaga Guardna right as the beam hit. When the smoke cleared, Yuma's monster was completely unharmed.

"Looks like Yuma managed to hang in there for one more turn." Kaito remarked up in the skybox.

"If there's anyone who's good at hanging in there by a thread, it's Yuma." Shark noted.

"Yeah, but how long can he and Astral keep it up?" Hikari wondered. "Not even Cleo could stand up to Alnia's Chaos Number. I'm not really sure I could either, to be honest."

At that moment, the door to the skybox opened. Everyone was surprised to see Michael walking in, leaning on Stacy and his older brother, Christopher for support. The pink-haired boy's shirt was open down the front, revealing a chest wrapped in bandages.

"Michael! You're awake!" Kotori observed.

"Are you sure it's a good idea for you to be out of bed like that?" Thomas asked.

"The doctors didn't think so, but he was dead set on coming here." Stacy answered.

"I couldn't just lie there in a hospital bed while Yuma was facing Alnia." Michael answered.

"They're running this duel on T.V., you know!" Thomas pointed out.

"It's just not the same." Michael told him. "I have to be here in person to cheer Yuma on."

"Damn straight!" came another voice from the door. Everyone looked to see Gauche standing in the doorway. "There's no way I could stay away from here either, not during Yuma's toughest duel yet."

"Let's just hope you two didn't come for nothing then." Kaito responded. "Yuma's up against Alnia's most powerful might right now. I don't know if he and Astral can even beat it."

"I hate it when my opponents pull moves like that." Alnia told Yuma. "Just give it up! You'll die less painfully that way!"

"Not gonna happen!" Yuma declared. "Astral and I are gonna keep on fighting until we beat you!"

Alnia grumbled something under her breath. "Fine! I end my turn!"

Yuma drew his next card. "I summon Zubaba Knight in Defense Mode!" Yuma's shield barring knight appeared on the field next to Gagaga Guardna. "Using my two level four monsters, I build the overlay network and Xyz Summon a monster in Defense Mode! Come forth, Number 55: Gogogo Goliath!"

A vortex in the form of a blue galaxy appeared in the center of the field and pulled in Yuma's two monsters as balls of orange energy. Rising out of the vortex only seconds later was a large stone object resembling a rubix cube with two balls of gold light orbiting around it. More segments sprang from the sides of the cube, and soon it had changed into a monster that greatly resembled Gogogo Golem but was six times the brick golem's size. It had a small dome-shaped head of blue brick with a single red eye and two horns made from pipes the color of red brick. Its torso looked like it had been made from the tower of a grey castle and had a barred window in the chest. Glowing on the golem's stomach in red alien writing was the number 55. It had massive red upper legs with even larger blue lower legs. The giant had long thick tube-like red arms with blue armor covering the wrists, and on its back were two large red tanks that looked like the could be silos of some kind.

"While Gogogo Goliath is on the field, all my monsters gain 800 DEF!" Yuma continued. "That means Goliath's DEF goes up from 1200 to 2000! I set one card on the field and end my turn!"

"That's gotta be your weakest move yet." Alnia remarked as she drew her next card. "I activate Lucifer's effect and detach another overlay unit to send all other monsters on the field to the Graveyard!"

Another one of the balls of light orbiting the dragon entered the ring on his chest. Lucifer roared and sent waves of silvery light all across the battlefield. Gogogo Goliath and Alnia's four Underworld Soldiers turned to black mist and drifted apart in the breeze. Yuma's life points rose to 8400. At the same time though, Alnia's life points climbed up to 6800.

"Because of Lucifer's effect, we both gain life points equal to the total ATK of our monsters that were removed from the field by this effect." Alnia continued. "That includes my Underworld Solider Tokens."

"But now the only monster you have on the field is Lucifer." Yuma pointed out.

"You sure about that?" Alnia asked.

Suddenly four skeletal hands burst up from the ground on Alnia's side of the field. In moments, four new Underworld Soldiers had risen and replaced the ones that had been eliminated.

"Every time Lucifer's effect resolves, I can summon four new Underworld Soldiers to the field." Alnia explained.

"As I suspected, this is the true strength of Black Solar Dragon Lucifer." Astral realized. "Unless we change this situation quickly Yuma, Alnia will simply keep using her Underworld Soldiers to raise her life points over and over again."

"That's right. You can use every cheap trick you've got to hang in there by the skin of your teeth, but if you keep this up for too long, my life points will be too high for you to turn this duel around." Alnia confirmed.

"I activate Xyz Reborn!" Yuma announced. "With this card, I summon Gogogo Golem back from the Graveyard in Defense Mode!"

The giant golem of brick reappeared on Yuma's side of the battlefield. Yuma's giant Trap card then turned into a ball of light and was pulled into Goliath's orbit.

"Just another cheap trick! Lucifer, demolish that eyesore!" Alnia commanded. "Breath of the Void!"

Lucifer opened his jaws and fired a crackling blast of black energy. Gogogo Goliath was hit in the chest and shattered into pieces of brick that rained down all over the battlefield.

"Attack him directly, my Underworld Soldiers!" Alnia ordered.

The armored skeletons flew across the battlefield towards Yuma with their swords raised. Yuma raised his arms to protect himself as the soldiers slashed at him with their blades, but his life points still dropped to 1600.

"I'll set one card on the field and end my turn." Alnia announced. "Now I'm getting tired of this damn duel. Just give up already so I can take the Numeron Code and give the people of this world a living hell."

"You know that's not gonna happen!" Yuma told her. "As long as I've got a shot at winning, I'm never giving up!" With that, Yuma pulled the next card from his deck, causing it to glow with a golden light. "I summon Overlay Necromancer in Attack Mode!"

Appearing on Yuma's side of the field was a woman with purple skin wearing a blood red cape. Bright orange hair peeked out from beneath her hood, and a white mask resembling a skull covered the upper half of her face. She had on a low cut blood red dress with a short shirt and a piece of white armor covering her chest, and around her waist was a black belt with a gold buckle shaped like a skull. In her right hand, the redhead carried a gnarled wooden staff with a skull at the top. Secured in the skull's open jaws was a round green gem.

"I activate Overlay Necromancer's effect!" Yuma announced. "By banishing two rank four Xyz Monsters from my Graveyard, I can summon the monsters that were originally used to summon them! I banish Diamond King Crab and Gogogo Goliath and summon Goblindberg, Gogogo Golem, Gagaga Guardna and Ganbara Knight back to the field!"

Overlay Necromancer raised her staff and a brilliant green light shined from the staff's gem. Four small black portals appeared on the ground on Yuma's side of the field and covered the stage with a green mist. In seconds, each of Yuma's four monsters rose out of the holes. When they appeared, the green mist covering the tournament stage vanished.

"The monster I'm about to bring out needs at least three overlay units!" Yuma announced. "So I overlay all five of my level four monsters to Xyz Summon the High Priest of Utopia!"

A blue vortex in the form of a galaxy appeared in the center of the field and pulled in Yuma's five monsters as balls of blue energy. Rising out of the vortex only seconds later was a humanoid figure that greatly resembled Astral. He had on a three-pointed crown that greatly resembled Utopia's helmet but had a white cloth hanging down the back. The figure also had on a cape made of a shimmering gold fabric. White armor covered his torso, and on his chest was a large jeweled crest that looked like the Emperor's Key. Panels of white armor hung down around his waist, and hanging from his golden belt was a sword that greatly resembled Utopia's sealed form. The figure's arms were bare, except for a pair of gold bracelets with green gems. His legs were bare as well except for a pair of golden boots. Orbiting around the Astral World being were five balls of golden light.

"When I've summoned High Priest of Utopia when my opponent has at least 3000 more life points than I do, I can draw two cards!" Yuma announced. The cards he pulled from his deck flashed with a golden light.

"So what? That priest of yours only has 2000 ATK." Alnia pointed out. "What's he gonna do, prey my dragon to death? Or maybe you're gonna have him preside over your funeral."

"I activate High Priest of Utopia's effect!" Yuma announced. "By detaching one of his overlay units, I can use High Priest of Utopia as material to Xyz Summon Number 39: Utopia from the Graveyard!"

"WHAT!" a stunned Alnia exclaimed.

The High Priest drew his sword and one of the balls of light orbiting around him entered the blade. A split second later, there was a blinding flash of golden light and Utopia was on the field in his sealed form. Five balls of golden light orbited around the Number warrior as he changed into his true form.

"Dammit!" Alnia cursed. "I thought I had gotten rid of that thing!"

"You cannot extinguish our hope so easily, Alnia!" Astral told her.

Suddenly Astral turned gold and began to give off a dazzling light. At the same time, Utopia began to give off a golden light of his own.

"Using Utopia, we rebuild the overlay network and Xyz Summon a new monster!" Yuma and Astral announced together. "When disorder claims the cosmos, a ray of hope descends to light the chaos! Come forth! Number S39: Utopia Prime!"

A pillar of golden light shot up around Utopia. When the light faded, the warrior had taken on the form of Utopia Prime and had six balls of gold light orbiting around him.

"I activate Utopia Prime's effect!" Yuma announced. "By detaching three of his overlay units and giving up all but ten of my life points, Utopia Prime banishes your monsters and deals 300 points of damage for each one!"

Three of the balls of light orbiting Utopia Prime entered the gem embedded in his chest. The warrior then blasted all five of Alnia's monsters with a blast of golden energy, creating a massive explosion. When the smoke cleared, Alnia's life points had dropped to 5300 and her Underworld Soliders was gone, but Lucifer was still on the field.

"Huh? What the heck happened?" a surprised Yuma asked.

"I activated my Trap, Out of the Shadows." Alnia explained. "When I take damage from an opponent's card effect, Out of the Shadows lets me summon a banished Chaos Number back to the field, ignoring any summoning restrictions it might have. You really caught me off guard when you summoned that Shining Number of yours, but in the end it still wasn't enough to take me out. You're finished on the next turn."

"Our turn's not over yet, Alnia!" Yuma told her. "Astral and I have only just started!"

"Give me a break." Alnia responded. "Do you idiots really think you still have a shot at winning?"

"The odds may be against us, but Yuma and I can still defeat you!" Astral declared.

"That's right!" Yuma responded. "And the reason is because no matter how badly the odds are stacked against us, we never give up!"

Suddenly Utopia Prime began to glow again. Soon after, the sky started to rumble with the sound of thunder. At that moment, a golden light began to shine from the Extra Deck holder at Yuma's waist.

"What the hell?" Alnia exclaimed. "What's going on now?"

"Using Utopia Prime, we rebuild the overlay network and Xyz Summon a new monster!" Yuma and Astral announced together. "Solitary glimmer of hope! Become a streak of lightning and leap from the darkness! Come forth, Number S39: Utopia the Lightning!"

A bolt of golden lightning came down from the sky and struck Utopia Prime. When the light from the resulting flash faded, the warrior had taken on yet another new form. His neck, hands, lower torso, and upper legs had become black. His helmet had turned completely white and had a green gem embedded in the forehead, as well as five golden horns growing from the back. Diamond-shaped pieces of gold armor covered the front of his waist and chest, and mounted in the large pieces of white armor covering his shoulders were two long swords. Orbiting around Utopia were four balls of golden light.

"Utopia, attack Black Solar Dragon Lucifer!" Yuma commanded. "Hope Sword Lightning Slash!"

"But that damn Shining Number of yours only has 2500 ATK!" Alnia pointed out.

"I activate Utopia the Lightning's effect!" Yuma announced. "By detaching two of his overlay units, Utopia the Lightning's ATK doubles during a battle!"

Two of the balls of gold light entered the green gem embedded in Utopia's chest as he drew his two swords. The Number warrior charged across the battlefield and leapt up at Alnia's dragon. The blades of Utopia's swords crackled with electricity as he swung them, cutting into the Millennium Ring on Lucifer's chest. The attack left a glowing X-shaped mark of white light that began to spread glowing cracks all over the dragon's skeletal body. As Utopia returned to Yuma's side of the battlefield Lucifer exploded with a flash of white light. Alnia flicked for a moment between her Barian and human forms as her life points dropped to 5100.

Alnia stood frozen in shock for a few moments before suddenly started to laugh. It was the kind of insane laugh one might have after nearly dying in a fatal accident.

"Utopia the Lightning's power wasn't enough to break the curse of Alnia's Devil Number." Astral observed. "It's not surprising, considering the depths of her hatred."

"In a way, Alnia's not that much different than how I was when I was the leader of the Barian Emperors." Shark noted up in the skybox. "Out of the seven of us, I was the only one who didn't have his memories altered by Don Thousand. It's kind of the same thing with the Death Queens. Anitak and Mitaka were able to see that the people in their old lives weren't as bad as they thought, but Alnia's a different story. Everyone that Alnia cared about was slaughtered in her past life. After having something like that happen, it's probably pretty impossible to forgive the human race."

"Then how are Yuma and Astral supposed to break the curse of Alnia's Number?" Kotori asked.

"No clue." Shark answered with a shrug. "But if anyone can find a way, I'm sure Yuma's the guy to do it."

"You know… you really are something, Tsukumo." Alnia spoke as she finished laughing. "There's actually a part that's been enjoying all this. I've never had an opponent who's been able to push me this far before. For that, I'm gonna make your death one that people will talk about for another five thousand years."

"I set one card on the field and end my turn!" Yuma announced.

"This turn will end the duel for sure!" Alnia declared as she drew her next card. "I activate the second effect of Rank-Up-Magic – The Devil's Triad! By banishing it from the Graveyard, I can bring back a Chaos Number from the Graveyard! Return, Black Solar Dragon Lucifer!"

A massive black vortex appeared in the air behind Alnia. Lucifer emerged from the vortex and let out a roar that echoed across the stadium.

"And now I'm going to use a power that not even Anitak and Mitaka knew about!" Alnia announced. "I use myself and Lucifer to rebuild the overlay network and summon… Number C666: Hope Destroyer Dragon Lucifer!"

A vortex in the form of a red galaxy appeared beneath Alnia's feet and pulled her in. Lucifer turned into a ball of red energy and was pulled in after her. The vortex gave off a flash of crimson lightning and the skeletal dragon rose back out of it only a second later. Lucifer's wings had changed from black to red, and Alnia's upper half was growing out of the top of the dragon's head. A single ball of red light was orbiting around the dragon. Many of the audience members were taken aback by how Alnia had apparently merged with her monster.

"A monster with an ATK of 4800." Astral observed. "This duel just became a lot more difficult."

Alnia let out a maniacal laugh. "What do ya think of me now, Tsukumo? I activate one of Hope Destroyer Dragon Lucifer's effects! When he's been Xyz Summoned, I can attach four Fiend-type monsters in my Graveyard to it as overlay units! I attach Tragoedia, Archfiend Mummy Soldier, Bandit Guardian Diabound and Number 666: Archfiend Pharaoh Lucifer!"

Four balls of red light flew out of the vortex that Lucifer had just emerged from and were pulled into the dragon's orbit. The crimson vortex then shut itself, leaving no trace of its existence.

"I attack Utopia the Lightning with Lucifer and activate one of its effect!" Alnia announced. "By detaching one of Lucifer's overlay units, he drops the ATK of the monster he's battling to zero!"

One of the balls of red light orbiting the dragon entered the ring on his chest. The dragon then blasted Utopia with ray of red energy that turned the warrior's armor grey.

"Lucifer! Let's remove that annoying Number from existence once and for all!" Alnia ordered. "Despair from the Void!"

Lucifer opened his jaws and fired a blast of crackling black energy at Utopia. The attack struck and pieces of armor flew everywhere across the battlefield. Alnia laughed triumphantly upon seemingly ending the duel, but when the attack ended, Utopia Prime had reappeared on the field with six balls of gold light in his orbit. What was even more surprising was that Yuma's few remaining life points were untouched.

"What the… how the hell are you both still alive?" an outraged Alnia demanded to know.

"I activated my Trap, Shell of Hope!" Yuma explained. "This Trap let me negate your attack by using Utopia the Lightning as a shield. Then I was able to summon Utopia Prime back to the field with all the overlay units he had when he was originally Xyz Summoned!"

"You annoying little piece of shit!" Alnia cursed. "Why won't you just die? Why are you and the Envoy hanging in there so damn hard?"

"Because we're trying to help you, Alnia!" Yuma told her. "We get why you want to bring back Zorc to punish everyone, but you don't have to do that! I know you're angry and in pain, but maybe I can help you through it somehow! Your past life may have been a tragedy, but this life can be a whole lot better! Because you'd have me as a friend!"

"A friend? You?" Alnia asked. "Why the hell would you want me as a friend?"

"Because we've dueled! And I consider just about everyone who I duel as a friend!" Yuma answered.

"Oh really? You think I'm a friend, huh?" Alnia responded in a cold tone. "Well you can take your damn friendship and shove it up your ass!"

"Yuma! Since Alnia seems to have ended her turn, it's time we start ours!" Astral decided.

"Right! We're gonna end this duel right here!" Yuma declared as he drew his next card. The card he pulled gave off a golden flash of light.

"By discarding Rank-Up-Magic Astral Force, we use ourselves and Utopia Prime to rebuild the overlay network and Xyz Summon a new monster!" Yuma and Astral announced together. "Invincible hope that shines in the darkness! Appear here and now and bring forth the light of possibility! Come forth, Number S0: Utopic ZEXAL!"

A golden vortex resembling a galaxy appeared under Utopia Prime's feet and pulled him in. Yuma then changed into a ball of red light while Astral transformed into a ball of blue light. Both lights flew into the vortex and caused a pillar of gold light to shoot into the air. The light faded after a few moments to reveal Yuma in a new form. The form resembled his armored ZEXAL form, only with a black bodysuit under white and red armor that was far less bulky. He had large spiked orange hair with a ponytail that grew down past his waist. In his right hand, Yuma held a sword with a blade made from golden energy. Orbiting around the Number human hybrid were seven balls of gold light.

"What the hell is this?" Alnia asked.

"You're not the only one who can combine with their monster!" Yuma told her. "Utopic ZEXAL gains 1000 ATK for each of its overlay units! Since I have seven right now, that means I have an ATK of 7000!"

"Is that right? Well I hate to burst your bubble, but you 7000 ATK isn't worth squat!" Alnia declared. "I can use Hope Destroyer Dragon's effect when he's being attacked as well!"

"That's what we thought!" Yuma responded. "Which is why I activate Utopic ZEXAL's effect! By detaching one of my overlay units, I can keep you from activating Lucifer's effects for the rest of the turn!"

One of the balls of light orbiting around Yuma entered the guard of his sword. Yuma pointed the blade up at Lucifer and fired a blast of gold energy that hit the dragon in the chest. In seconds, Alnia and the dragon that was connected to her body were bound in chains made of golden light. Alnia and Lucifer struggled to break free of the chains, but it was no use.

"I equip Utopic ZEXAL with SZW – Pegasus Wing!" Yuma announced.

Flying down from the sky was mechanical Pegasus covered in red armor with white trim. It had a silver blade for a mane and two glowing gold-feathered wings. The Pegasus struck Yuma and changed into a golden light. When the light faded, a piece of red armor baring the symbol of the Emperor's Key was covering Yuma's chest, and a pair of glowing golden wings had sprouted on his back.

"Pegasus Wing doesn't boost my ATK, but it gives me to inflict the ATK of the monster I destroy as battle damage!" Yuma announced. "I'm sorry it's come to this, Alnia! But I'm doing this for your own good!"

"Damn you!" Alnia cursed.

"I attack Lucifer with Utopic ZEXAL!" Yuma announced. "Hope Star Pegasus Slash!"

Yuma took off into the air and flew full speed towards Lucifer's head. When he came in range, Yuma stabbed Alnia through the chest with his energy blade. Alnia screamed as he life points dropped to zero and cracks of white light formed all over her body and Lucifer's. After a few more moments, Lucifer exploded in a flash of blinding light that washed over the entire city and the parts of the city beyond it. When the light faded at last, the sky had returned to normal. Yuma was standing one the stage in his original form next to Astral. On the floor of the stadium in front of them were the cards for Number 664, Number 665 and Number 666.

"Uh… and the winner of the Millennium Tournament is… Yuma Tsukumo!" the referee finally declared.

The audience began to cheer loudly upon hearing Yuma being declared champion. Up in the skybox, Kotori and many of the others breathed a major sigh of relief. Back down on the stage, Yuma took a look at the three Devil Number cards on the floor.

"Guess it's finally over." Yuma spoke.

"Indeed. Now that the Death Queens have finally been defeated, I can use the Numeron Code to bring them back as humans." Astral replied.

Suddenly the three Devil Number cards began to spark with black electricity. Before Yuma and Astral fully noticed, the cards shot a pillar of black energy up into the sky. Up in the skybox, Hikari and Cleo's Signer marks flared up again and created a barrier that covered the inside of the entire room. Meanwhile the pillar of energy began to shoot the audience members and the referee with bolts of black lightning.

Inside the pillar, a laugh could be heard. _"H-HA HAA HA HA HA HA HAAAA!"_

After a few moments, the pillar of energy finally faded. Standing in place of the Devil Number cards was a young-looking man with long white hair and wild purple eyes. He had on a blue and white striped shirt with a black vest and faded grey jeans. Hanging by a brown leather string from the young man's neck was the Millennium Ring.

"Well… I guess congratulations are in order for defeating my little pawns." The young man spoke. "Alnia obviously never gave the two of you enough credit."

"Hey! Aren't you…?" Yuma began to ask.

"Who are you?" Astral demanded to know.

"I am an avatar of Zorc Necrophades." The young man answered. "You may call me Bakura."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Surprise! He's _baaaack_. Needless to say, this tournament has just gone into overtime. So stay tuned. In the meantime, I hope everyone enjoyed the conclusion to Yuma and Alnia's duel.

Pleas review and let me know what you think.


	34. Game of Darkness

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.

* * *

Chapter 34: Game of Darkness

"I never thought my efforts to get the Numeron Code would come to this." Bakura spoke. "But as the old saying goes, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself."

"You've been manipulating the Death Queens this entire time!" Astral realized.

At this, Bakura chuckled. "When you knocked away those three Numbers away from Don Thousand, they were not scattered to the winds of time like Alnia and the others believed. Instead, those Numbers ended up in my domain. When I found them, they tried to attach themselves to me, but my power was too great for the power of your Don Thousand. Instead, I infused those cards with a piece of my own self and scattered them across this world so that humans with hearts open to darkness would find them."

"And just like how the Barian Emperors were the means for Don Thousand to free himself from his prison, the Death Queens were the means for you to revive yourself." Astral deduced.

"It was a good backup plan to have in place in the very unlikely event I was destroyed." Bakura confirmed. "I planted the seeds of darkness, and as I hoped they were able to take root."

"But if you could use the Devil Numbers to appear to us like this, why'd you use Alnia and the others?" Yuma asked.

"Because in this incarnation I am nothing more than a spirit who can't do anything except duel." Bakura explained. "But once I have the Numeron Code, that will all change."

"We want blood! We want blood!" the audience suddenly began to chant, much to Yuma and Astral's surprise. Even the referee had begun to chant.

"What did you do?" Yuma demanded to know.

"I merely put the audience in the mood for the show I plan to put on." Bakura answered. "If it's any consolation, your little friends were unaffected thanks to the Signer marks that two of them have."

Yuma looked and saw that every single audience member seemed to be in some kind of trance as they continued their mindless chant.

"Now then, let's get this little show started." Bakura proposed. "We wouldn't want to disappoint our audience, now would we?"

Seeing that there was no other option, Yuma reactivated his D-Gazer and duel disk. At the same time, Bakura's left forearm began to pulse as something grew out of the back of it. In a matter of seconds, the growth turned into a duel disk complete with its own deck. In place of a normal D-Gazer, the white-haired duelist's left eye turned black and gained a red iris. When the color of the surrounding area changed, the audience stopped its mindless chant for blood.

"I'll start this off." Bakura declared as he drew his first card. "I set one card on the field. Then I summon the Headless Knight in Defense Mode!"

Appearing on Bakura's side of the battlefield was a suit of armor lacking a helmet. It had on a tattered red cape and carried a sword in its right arm. Meanwhile its left arm held a large shield with a round blue gem in the center.

"That ends my turn." Bakura announced.

"What the hell?" Shark spoke up in the skybox with a raised eyebrow. "Why's this Bakura guy playing an old junk card like that?"

"He must be trying to lure Yuma and Astral into a Trap of some kind." Hikari assumed.

"If he is, he's being pretty damn obvious about it." Shark declared.

"What do you think, Astral?" Yuma asked. "Should we attack, or not?"

"I am uncertain." Astral answered. "Attacking that monster might be just what Bakura wants us to do. Then again, maybe not attacking would be playing right into his hands."

"Well I'm not going to play it safe!" Yuma declared as he drew his first card. "I summon Zubaba Knight in Attack Mode!" The sword-wielding knight appeared on Yuma's side of the field. "Next I special summon Kagemucha Knight!" Yuma's shadowy knight appeared on the field next to Zubaba Knight. "Using my two level three monsters, I build the overlay network and Xyz Summon Number 17: Leviathan Dragon!"

A galaxy-like vortex appeared in the center of the field and pulled in Yuma's two monsters as balls of blue energy. A scaly blue object with two balls of blue light orbiting around it rose out of the vortex and transformed into Leviathan Dragon.

"I activate Leviathan Dragon's effect and detach an overlay unit to raise his ATK to 2500!" Yuma announced. The dragon ate one of the balls of light in orbit around him. "Leviathan Dragon, attack Headless Knight! Vice Stream!"

The serpentine dragon breathed out a stream of blue light that vaporized the knight upon impact. Despite the loss of his monster, a confident grin remained on Bakura's face.

"I end my turn!" Yuma announced.

Bakura drew his next card. "I summon Earthbound Spirit in Defense Mode!"

A patch of the stage floor on Bakura's side of the battlefield suddenly turned dirt-brown. The piece of ground bulged up and a pair of hands and an almost human face emerged. The face of the earthbound creature seemed to be in agony.

"That's ends my turn." Bakura announced.

"Say what?" Yuma exclaimed.

"Now he's summoned another junk card." Shark observed. "This one may have 2000 DEF, but it won't last for more than a turn against Leviathan Dragon."

"And if Yuma summoned another monster, Bakura will be wide open for a direct attack." Kaito added.

Yuma drew his next card. "I summon Gogogo Golem in Attack Mode!"

Yuma's one-eyed golem of blue brick materialized on the battlefield.

"I activate Leviathan Dragon's effect and detach his last overlay unit to increase his ATK to 3000!" Yuma announced. Leviathan Dragon ate the last ball of light in his orbit. "Leviathan Dragon, attack Earthbound Spirit! Vice Stream!"

The serpentine dragon breathed out another beam of light down at Bakura's monster. When the attack ended, the only thing that was left of the earthbound creature was a black scorch mark.

"Gogogo Golem! Attack Bakura directly!" Yuma ordered.

The golem of brick charged across the battlefield and punched Bakura in the chest with his heavy stone fist. The attack caused Bakura's life points to drop to 2200. Despite the damage he had just taken though, Bakura's confident grin remained.

"I end my turn!" Yuma announced.

Bakura drew his next card. "I summon the Gross Ghost of Fled Dreams in Defense Mode!"

Appearing on Bakura's side of the field was a man in bed who appeared to be asleep. The man thrashed around as though he was in the grip of a terrible nightmare. His mouth opened up and a creature emerged, taking the form of a yellow spirit with a skull-like face and mummified body. Long purple mist-like hair grew from the back of the spirit's head. In its right hand it wielded a sword, and in its left hand was a brown shield.

"I end my turn there." Bakura announced.

"What the hell? Every monster this Bakura guy has played has been a junk card that only eight-year-olds who are new to the game use!" Alit spoke. "It's like he's not even taking Yuma and Astral seriously!"

"He's definitely up to something." Vector told them. "The question is what."

"Whatever Bakura's strategy is, it's kind of creeping me out." Kotori declared.

Yuma drew his next card. "I summon Gagaga Magician in Attack Mode!" The silver-haired magician appeared on the field. "I use the level four Gogogo Golem and Gagaga Magician to build the overlay network and Xyz Summon Number 55: Gogogo Goliath!"

A galaxy-like vortex appeared in the center of the field and pulled in Yuma's two monsters as balls of orange energy. Moments later, a stone cube with two balls of gold light in orbit around it rose from the center of the vortex and expanded into Gogogo Goliath.

"Leviathan Dragon, attack Bakura's monster!" Yuma commanded. "Vice Stream!"

Leviathan Dragon breathed out another beam of light that vaporized Bakura's monster. Bakura was wide open for a direct attack, yet his confident grin still remained.

"Gogogo Goliath! Attack Bakura directly and end this duel!" Yuma commanded. "Block Fist!"

"I activate my Trap, Army of Darkness!" Bakura announced.

Just as Gogogo Goliath swung his massive fist down at Bakura, a pillar of black energy shot up from the ground and blocked the brick giant's attack. After a moment, the pillar of energy faded and to Yuma and Astral's surprise, Headless Knight, Earthbound Spirit and the Gross Ghost of Fled Dreams had reappeared on the battlefield.

"What the heck?" Yuma exclaimed.

"When my opponent tries to launch a direct attack against me, Army of Darkness negates that direct attack and ends the current Battle Phase." Bakura explained. "More importantly though, Army of Darkness summons every Fiend-type monster that was destroyed and sent to the Graveyard since the card was first set. I want to thank you both for killing my monsters for me."

"Now he has three level four monsters on his field!" Astral realized.

"You mean he's…?" Yuma began to ask.

"I'm afraid so." Astral confirmed before he could finish.

"Dang it! I set one card on the field and end my turn!" Yuma announced.

"Now the real show begins!" Bakura declared as he drew his next card. "Using my three level four monsters, I build the overlay network and Xyz Summon one of my ultimate pawns! Arise, Number 664: Ghost Student Mary!"

A vortex in the form of a red galaxy appeared in the center of the field and pulled in Bakura's three monsters as balls of red energy. In seconds, a broken mirror with three purple will-o-wisps orbiting around it rose from the center of the vortex. The ghostly undead woman that was Ghost Student Mary crawled out of the mirror and stared at Yuma and Astral with her red eye.

"I rather like this particular Number." Bakura remarked. "It fits rather well into my Super Occult Deck Mark 2."

"Say what you will about the guy. He's got good taste in monsters." Vector remarked up in the skybox.

"You need to get some serious help." Anna told him.

"How the hell does this guy have Chitose's Number?" Alit asked.

"All three of those Devil Numbers are the reason why Bakura's able to show himself like this.' Shark pointed out. "I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up summoning the other two Numbers during this duel."

"When Ghost Student Mary battles a monster, that monster's ATK and DEF are switched during that battle!" Bakura continued. "And since your Leviathan Dragon has zero DEF points, it's the perfect monster to serve as my first victim! Mary! Tear that dragon apart! Phantasmal Grudge!"

With a wave of her arms, Mary flung her hooked chains across the field at Leviathan Dragon. The chains wrapped themselves tightly around the serpentine dragon's body. With one strong tug from Mary's arms, Leviathan Dragon's body was pulled apart into four pieces that soon shattered into particles of blue light that drifted away in the breeze. Yuma's life points plummeted to a mere 800 because of the attack.

"I activate the Quick-Play Spell card, Battlefield Xyz!" Bakura announced. "When one of my Xyz Monsters destroys another monster in battle, I can use it as material to Xyz Summon another monster that's one rank higher! I use Ghost Student Mary to rebuild the overlay network and Xyz Summon the second of my ultimate pawns! Arise, Number 665: Witch Queen Agatha!"

A red vortex galaxy-like appeared in the center of the field and pulled in Mary as a ball of red energy. Seconds later, a large black sphere with a pin through the center and a face drawn on the front rose from the center of the galaxy with four red fireballs orbiting around it. The object quickly transformed into the masked witch that was Witch Queen Agatha.

"Now he's summoned Samantha's Number to the field!" Thomas identified.

"It probably won't be long before Bakura summoned Alnia's Number next." Kaito assumed.

"What I don't get is why he would use Ghost Student Mary as material to summon Agatha." Kotori pointed out.

"Bakura may have lost Mary by using her to summon Agatha, but this way he gains something else." Shark told her. "It's still Bakura's Battle Phase, and Agatha hasn't attacked yet."

"Agatha's effects are negated due to being summoned with Battlefield Xyz, but she can still destroy that monster of yours!" Bakura continued. "Agatha! Burn Gogogo Goliath to cinders! Vengeful Witchfire!"

"I activate my Trap, Puzzle Blocker!" Yuma announced. "This card switches my Rock-type Gogogo Goliath to Defense Mode and prevents him from being destroyed in this battle!"

Gogogo Goliath crossed his arms in front of his chest as the blast of flames came towards him. The attack struck, but when the flames finally subsides the golem was still standing on the field. The armor that covered his arms glowed bright red momentarily, but beyond that he was completely unharmed.

"Well played." Bakura praised. "I guess I'll end my turn there."

Yuma drew his next card. "I summon Ganbara Knight!" The shield-baring knight materialized on Yuma's side of the field. "Since I just summoned a level four monster, I special summon Kagetokage!" Yuma's shadowy lizard appeared on the field next to Ganbara Knight. "I use my two level four monsters to build the overlay network and Xyz Summon a monster in Defense Mode! Come forth, Number 52: Diamond Crab King!"

Another galaxy-like vortex appeared in the center of the field and pulled in Yuma's two monsters as balls of blue energy. Rising out of the vortex seconds later was a chunk of crystal with two balls of gold light orbiting around it. The giant blue crab grew from the bottom of the crystal as the vortex closed up.

"Gogogo Goliath gives all my monsters an extra 800 DEF! Which means that right now, Diamond Crab King has a DEF of 3800!" Yuma announced. "I end my turn!"

Bakura chuckled as he drew his next card. "You've put up a strong defense, but I'm afraid that it will amount to nothing. I activate the Spell card, Overlay Soul Stealer! This card destroys your two monsters and give their overlay units to Witch Queen Agatha!"

Twin twisters of a spectral green wind suddenly surrounded Yuma's two monsters. The giant golem and crystalline crab suddenly collapsed into piles of grey dust and their overlay units were pulled into Agatha's orbit, changing into four balls of red flame. Soon after, Yuma's life points rose to 2900.

"If it's any consolation, you gain life points equal to half the total DEF of the monsters destroyed by Overlay Soul Stealer." Bakura continued. "In addition, I'm unable to conduct my Battle Phase during this turn. But just because I can't attack this turn, doesn't mean you're safe. In fact, both of you are now standing at the edge of the abyss into eternal darkness! I activate the Spell card, Underdog Promotion! When my life points are lower than my opponent's, Underworld Promotion lets me use an Xyz Monster I control as material to summon a monster one rank higher! I use Witch Queen Agatha to rebuild the overlay network and Xyz Summon the monster of my strongest pawn! Arise, Number 666: Archfiend Pharaoh Lucifer!"

A vortex in the form of a red galaxy formed in the center of the field and pulled in Agatha as a ball of red energy. The stone tablet of the Millennium Items rose out of the center of the vortex with nine balls of golden light orbiting around it. The tablet shattered and Alnia's demon pharaoh descended onto the battlefield.

"And now everything has finally been prepared!" Bakura declared. "Using Archfiend Pharaoh Lucifer, I rebuild the overlay network and Xyz Summon my avatar in this duel! Come forth from the depths, Underworld Emperor Zorc!"

A gigantic purple vortex appeared in the air behind Bakura and pulled in Lucifer as a ball of purple energy. Nothing seemed to happen for almost half a minute, and then suddenly a large clawed hand with chalk-white skin suddenly emerged from the anomaly. Yuma and Astral watched in horror as a creature resembling Zorc Necrophades emerged from the vortex. His entire body was as white as his hand, but his eyes burned red like the fires of the underworld. Yuma was at least thankful that this form of the demon did not have the second head that jutted out from between his legs. Instead, Zorc's lower half was like that of a serpent. His chest resembled Don Thousand's monster form with a large glowing green eye with a slit-shaped pupil on his chest. On Zorc's back was a pair of massive bat-like wings with holes in the membranes, and orbiting around the demon were ten transparent entities resembling ghosts, each with a face twisted in agony.

"The only type of creature that can destroy my new avatar in battle is one of your Shining Numbers." Bakura revealed. "However, none of the Numbers you used against Alnia have a chance of defeating me. That's because Underworld Emperor Zorc gains certain effects for having Number 664, Number 665 and Number 666 attached to him as overlay units. The first effect is that his ATK and DEF rise from zero to 6000!"

"Not good!" Yuma declared as the color drained from his face.

"Your end is finally near!" Bakura declared. "And once you're both dead, I'll claim the Numeron Code and complete my resurrection! The age of darkness is finally upon us!"

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I hope everyone enjoyed this latest installment of this story. The final chapter is coming up, but I'm afraid it'll be another week before I'll finally be able to post it. Until then, stayed tuned.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	35. Atem's Legacy

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.

* * *

Chapter 35: Atem's Legacy

"Now, let's begin your slow descent into death." Bakura decided. "I activate one of Underworld Emperor Zorc's effects granted to him by the three Devil Numbers! By detaching one of his overlay units, Zorc forces both of us to send the top five cards of our decks to the Graveyard. I detach your Gagaga Magician to make us bury five of our cards!"

One of the lost souls orbiting around Zorc entered the large glowing eye on his chest. The eye started to shine bright, and suddenly the top five cards of Yuma's deck glowed with a green aura and flew from the top of his deck into the Graveyard slot of his duel disk. The same thing happened to the top cards of Bakura's deck.

"What the heck was the point of that move?" Yuma wondered.

"I do not know, but I'm sure it's the first step in a deadly strategy." Astral assumed.

"I play the Continuous Spell known as Overlay Spirit Energy!" Bakura announced. "Now during each of my Standby Phases, Overlay Spirit Energy will give me 600 extra life points for each overlay unit currently attached to all the Xyz Monsters I control. I end my turn, which means another one of the effects granted to Zorc by the three Devil Numbers activates! During my end phases, all cards in my Graveyard are attached to Zorc as overlay units!"

Suddenly a swarm of lost souls flew out of the Graveyard slot on Bakura's duel disk. The spirits were then pulled into Zorc' orbit, joining the other phantoms that were already compelled to fly around him.

"This isn't good." Kaito declared up in the skybox. "Looks like Bakura's using a similar strategy to the one that Alnia used. Even if Yuma can block his attacks, that combo of Underworld Emperor Zorc and Overlay Spirit Energy will just keep raising his life points each turn."

"Couldn't Yuma and Astral use Utopic ZEXAL to beat him like they did with Alnia?" Kotori asked.

"It wouldn't work." Rio told her. "Utopic ZEXAL's ATK and DEF depend on the number of overlay units attached to him. Yuma would need to have at least seven overlay units attached in order for that to work, and I don't think he has the cards to do that."

"That avatar of yours does look pretty tough Zorc, but I know that Astral and I will find a way to beat it!" Yuma declared as he drew his next card.

"And now the final effect of Zorc granted by the Devil Numbers kicks in!" Bakura suddenly announced. "During each of our Standby Phases, we take 100 points of damage times the number of cards in our Graveyards! Since you have twelve cards in your Graveyard right now, you and your Astral World friend now take 1200 points of damage!"

Suddenly Zorc shot a massive beam of light from the eye in his chest down at Yuma and Astral. The hypnotized audience members cheered as the duo of Yuma and Astral were both consumed by the light. When Zorc's attack finally ended, Yuma and Astral were still standing but their life points had fallen to 1700.

"Of course I won't take any damage from Underworld Emperor Zorc's final effect." Bakura continued. "Technically I don't have a Graveyard because Zorc is my Graveyard. As the ruler of the underworld, all souls who fall into my Graveyard during this duel are bound to serve him. Even when I detach one of Zorc's overlay units, it will just come back to him at the end of the turn."

"Man! What a dirty combo!" Yuma declared.

"Indeed. And it will only get worse if we allow this duel to go on for too long." Astral added.

"Give it up, mortal. You have no chance of defeating me." Bakura confidently declared.

"We'll see about that! I activate Monster Reborn and summon Gagaga Magician back from the Graveyard!" Yuma announced. The silver-haired magician reappeared on Yuma's field. "Next I summon Damage Fighter in Attack Mode!"

Appearing next to Gagaga Magician was a well-muscled young man with spiked read hair, wearing long grey pants and black boots. White bandages were wrapped around the young man's hands, and his left side was scarred shut. X-shaped scars covered his chest, back and shoulders, and a long red headband was wrapped around his forehead. A pair of what looked like dog tags was hanging from the young man's neck by a silver chain.

"Using my level four Gagaga Magician and Damage Fighter, I build the overlay network and Xyz Summon my most trusted monster!" Yuma announced. "Come forth, Number 39: Utopia!"

A galaxy-like vortex appeared in the center of the battlefield and pulled in Yuma's two monsters as balls of gold energy. An ornate giant white sword with two balls of gold light orbiting around it rose from the vortex and took the form of Utopia.

"That ends my turn!" Yuma announced.

Bakura chuckled. "That's the best you could do?"

"For now." Yuma answered. "But sooner or later, I'll find a way to take you down!"

"Foolish boy!" Bakura spoke as he drew his next card. "At this point, the effect of Overlay Spirit Energy activates and raises my life points for each of Zorc's overlay units!"

Suddenly Bakura began to glow with an unearthly green aura. Before the aura faded, Bakura's life points had climbed to 13000.

"As amusing as this has been, it's time to end this foolishness." Bakura decided. "Zorc! Attack his pathetic Number! Zorc Inferno!"

With that, Zorc brought his clawed hands together. Between his palms, a massive ball of green fire began to form.

"I activate Utopia's effect!" Yuma announced. "By detaching one of his overlay units, Utopia can negate one attack!"

As soon as Zorc's ball of flames began large enough, the giant demon fired it as a stream of flames down at Utopia. Before the attack could strike though, one of the balls of light orbiting the Number warrior entered the green gem in the center of his chest. One of the wings on Utopia's back unfolded around him and became like a shield, blocking the stream of flames.

"So you've managed to extend your existence for one more miserable turn." Bakura observed. "But in the end, it will achieve nothing! I activate Zorc's effect and detach Dark Necrofear to force use to send five more cards from our deck to the Graveyard!"

One of the lost souls orbiting around Zorc entered the eye in the center of his chest, causing it to glow brightly again. The top few cards of Yuma and Bakura's decks glowed with a green light and flew into their Graveyard slots.

"I end my turn. And with the end of my turn, all the cards in my Graveyard become attached to Zorc!" More lost souls flew out of Bakura's duel disk and were pulled into Zorc's orbit. "You can use your Number to block my attacks as often as you want, but it won't change anything in the end. No matter how hard you struggle, I will still win!"

"You will never prevail, Zorc!" Astral declared. "You have been defeated before, and Yuma and I will defeat you again!"

At this, Bakura burst out laughing. "Fool! You cannot defeat me because I am darkness itself! And darkness is eternal! I may have lost in the past, but I will always rise again! That is because the people of this world will always call out to the darkness! How do you think it is that the Death Queens became my pawns? It's because their hearts called out to the darkness and the Numbers containing my power answered them! No matter how many times you and those like you try to defeat me, I will always come back!"

"Maybe! But that doesn't mean we should just give up and stop fighting!" Yuma told him. "Even if you and other guys like you keep coming back, there will always be someone to step up and fight you! And that's because the battle to protect this world is worth winning!"

Suddenly the gem embedded in the Emperor's Key began to shine with a golden light. At the same time, the image of the Millennium Puzzle carved at the top of the Tablet of Memories began to shine and a beam of gold light shot from the eye. The light traveled through the halls of the stadium and made its way out to land on the stage next to Yuma. Bakura, Yuma and Astral were all stunned as the light took on the transparent form of Pharaoh Atem.

"What is this?" Bakura demanded to know. "What the hell are you doing here?"

 _"You should give up now, Zorc!"_ Atem told you. _"Everything that Yuma has told you is the truth."_

"Why don't you just stay out of this? You've been dead for a long time, Pharaoh!" Bakura told him. "You can't interfere with me anymore!"

 _"Maybe not. But in every age, there has been someone who has appeared to oppose you and those like you, just as Yuma said!"_ Atem replied. _"My old partner, Yugi! Jaden Yuki! Yusei Fudo! And now Yuma and his friend, Astral! It is just as I told you thousands of years ago in our first battle, Zorc! The light of my soul will shine on for all eternity! And my legacy will be carried on from one light to the next!"_

"Then I'll just snuff out your light right now!" Bakura declared.

 _"Yuma! It's time that you and Astral ended this!"_ Atem told him. _"The power to defeat him is already with you!"_

Suddenly the eye of Atem's Millennium Pendant began to shine with a golden light. At the same time, the top card of Yuma's deck began to glow with a golden light as well. Yuma pulled the card from his deck, beginning his turn.

"It doesn't matter what card you've drawn, because now Zorc's effect activates and deals damage for each card in your Graveyard!" Bakura announced. "Die!"

Zorc fired another beam of light from the eye in the middle of his chest down at Yuma. Before the beam could hit though, a ghostly image of Damage Fighter suddenly appeared and blocked the impact, striking the head of the beam with his fist and causing it to shatter. With the attack blocked, Damage Fighter vanished from the field.

"What did you just do?" Bakura demanded to know.

"The overlay unit that I detached from Utopia during your last turn was Damage Fighter." Yuma explained. "And since Damage Fighter was in the Graveyard, I was able to banish him and negate the damage from Zorc's effect! Not that, Damage Fighter lets me draw two more cards!"

The two additional cards that Yuma pulled from his deck shined with a golden light. Suddenly a small pink ball of fur with two goggly eyes and transparent insect-like wings on the sides of its body appeared in the air and turned into a ball of gold light that was pulled into Utopia's orbit.

"One of the cards I just drew was Overlay Sprite!" Yuma announced. "When Overlay Sprite is drawn using a card effect, I can attach him to an Xyz Monster I control!"

"So your Number's overlay units have been reloaded." Bakura observed. "In the end, that will make no difference. No matter how many of my attacks you manage to block, the outcome of this duel will still be the same!"

"I'm not blocking any more of your attacks!" Yuma declared. "I now activate the Spell card, Rank-Up-Magic Millennium Force!" A large Spell card showing an image of the Millennium Puzzle appeared behind Utopia. "Millennium Force lets me use a Utopia monster to Xyz Summon a Shining Number with twice the Rank!"

"What?" Bakura exclaimed.

"We use Number 39: Utopia to rebuild the overlay network and Xyz Summon the true king of Numbers!" Yuma and Astral announced together. "Spark of hope that shines in the darkness! Ignite and become the shining dawn of a new day! Come forth, Number S39: Utopia Pharaoh!"

Utopia's body gave off a blinding flash of golden light that covered the entire stadium. When the light faded, Utopia had grown to twice his original size and had three balls of gold light orbiting around him. The armored wings on his back had become a massive pair of wings covered in gold feathers. On his head was a blue and gold cobra hood headdress like that of an Egyptian pharaoh, and on his chin he had the fake beard worn by Egyptian royalty. The eye-like symbol of the Millennium Items had appeared around the green gem in Utopia's chest. Hanging down from the front of his waist was a golden breechcloth with hieroglyphs written down the front. In Utopia's right hand was an ornate golden scepter with a green gem at the top.

Bakura chuckled. "An impressive-looking monster, I'll admit. But it only has 5000 ATK, a thousand points short of being able to match Zorc!"

"I activate Utopia Pharaoh's effect!" Yuma announced. "By detaching all three of his overlay units, I can target an opponent's Xyz Monster that has Numbers attached to it as overlay units and summon them to my side of the field! I use Utopia Pharaoh's effect to summon Number 664: Ghost Student Mary, Number 665: Witch Queen Agatha, and Number 666: Archfiend Pharaoh Lucifer!"

"NO!" Bakura shouted.

The three balls of light orbiting the king of Numbers entered the eye on the center of his chest. From the eye, Utopia Pharaoh fired a beam of golden light at Zorc. Suddenly three of the lost souls orbiting around Zorc turned into balls of gold light and flew down to Yuma's side of the field, becoming the three original Devil Numbers used by the Death Queens.

"I'm going to win this duel and take back the souls of Alnia and the others!" Yuma declared.

"Damn you!" Bakura cursed. "Now Zorc has lost the effects he gained from having the Devil Numbers attached!"

 _"That's not all your avatar has lost, Zorc!"_ Atem told him with a confident smirk. _"Underworld Emperor Zorc needed the three devil Numbers attached to him for his ATK and DEF to become 6000. But now that he lost those numbers as overlay units, his ATK and DEF are now zero!"_

"The effects of the monsters summoned using Utopia Pharaoh's effect are negated, but they can still attack!" Yuma announced. "Ghost Student Mary, attack Underworld Emperor Zorc! Phantasmal Grudge!"

With a wave of her arms, Mary flung her hooked chains up at Zorc. Several more hooked chains suddenly came down from the air as well, and the blades from all of the hooks slashed Zorc's chest and caused cuts of green light to appear. The same glowing green cuts appeared on Bakura's body in the same spots as Zorc as he grimaced in pain from the attack. The attack had also caused Bakura's life points to drop to 9800.

"Witch Queen Agatha! Attack Zorc with Vengeful Witchfire!" Yuma ordered.

Agatha levitated into the air and raised her arms forward and fired a stream of crimson flames at Zorc that hit the demon in the face, causing him to roar in pain and cover the right side of his face with his clawed hand. Bakura cried out as well and covered the same part of his face with his own hand as his life points fell to 6400.

"Next I attack Zorc with Archfiend Pharaoh Lucifer!" Yuma announced. "Millennium Ruin!"

Lucifer aimed his Millennium Rod up at Zorc and fired a blast of cracking black energy at the demon. Zorc was hit in the giant green eye in the center of his chest, causing him to roar in pain and cover the destroyed eye with his other hand. At the same time, Bakura made a sound as though he had been punched in the chest and covered the Millennium Ring with his other hand as his life points fell to 2800.

"Now for the finishing blow!" Yuma announced. "Utopia Pharaoh gains 1000 ATK for every other Number monster that I control! Which means his ATK jumps from 5000 to 8000! Utopia! Attack Zorc and end this duel! Shining Hope Solar Ray!"

Utopia Pharaoh aimed his scepter at Zorc and fired a massive beam of golden light from the gemstone at the end. Upon being hit, cracks of white light began to form all over the demon's body. The same cracks formed on Bakura's body as well, and when his life points fell to zero both he and Zorc shattered apart and began nothing. The darkness that has been covering the sky shattered apart as well and revealed the sun. With the duel finally at an end, Utopia Pharaoh and the Devil Numbers vanished.

 _"You fought well, Yuma."_ Atem praised.

"Thanks for your help towards the end there, Atem." Yuma told him. "Do you think that's the end of Zorc?"

 _"We can only hope so."_ Atem answered. _"But if he should come back there will always be someone to oppose him."_

"It was an honor to meet you, Pharaoh." Astral told him.

 _"And you as well."_ Atem replied. _"Take care."_

With that, the spirit of the legendary pharaoh vanished into thin air. All over the stadium, the people that had become entranced by Bakura's spell were coming back to their senses.

"It's finally over." Kotori observed with a sigh of relief.

"Hopefully that demon, Zorc will stay dead this time." Hikari remarked.

"I'm gonna go for a walk." Thomas decided. "I'll see you guys later."

"Aren't you going to watch as they award Yuma with the tournament prize?" Michael asked.

"Nah. I kinda need to be alone right now." Thomas answered. "I've got a lot on my mind."

A few moments later down on the tournament stage, the tournament officials awarded Yuma with a trophy and a rather large check. After being given their prize, Yuma and Astral waved at a cheering audience.

"This tournament did have some pretty bad moments, but it was still pretty fun." Yuma declared. "Having you duel along side me in this thing was a blast, Astral."

"I feel the same." Astral replied. "But there's still one thing left that I have to do."

"Oh yeah! You gotta bring back Alnia and the others with the Numeron Code." Yuma remembered.

"…You realize that once I use the Numeron Code, I'll have to go back to the Astral World." Astral told him.

"I know." Yuma replied. "But we'll see each other again, right?"

"Of that, I have no doubt." Astral assured him.

Astral lifted his hand and a floating card of light appeared above his palm. The card gave off a flash of blinding light, and in a split second he was gone. A slightly bitter half smile formed on Yuma's face, but he shrugged and continued to wave at the crowd. Meanwhile up in the skybox, Alit noticed a flash of white light in the corner of the room. He turned and saw an unconscious Chitose on the floor. Alit instantly rushed over to the dark-haired girl's side. In a few moments, Chitose began to stir.

"Hey there." Alit greeted.

"…Alit?" Chitose spoke as she opened her eyes. "What… where am I?"

"It's kinda complicated to explain, but the short version is that Astral brought you back using the Numeron Code." Alit explained. "Now you're just a human like the rest of us."

"I… I see." Chitose replied as she slowly stood up. "I suppose that means that Yuma defeated Alnia."

"You think that's a bad thing?" Alit asked.

"…I suppose not." Chitose answered. "But… where do I go from here? I no longer have a mission now."

"But now you have a shot at a normal life." Alit told her. "And it won't be like that crappy life you had at Domino High. I'll make sure of it."

"I suppose… I could give this life a chance." Chitose replied.

Alit looked at Chitose for a few moments before suddenly moving in and planting a firm kiss on the dark-haired girl's lips. The action caused Chitose's face to turn a deep shade of red.

At that very moment, Shark looked back at the spectacle and rolled his eyes. "Geez! This was way too much trouble to go through for Alit to get a girlfriend."

* * *

Thomas had only gotten a few feet away from the stadium when he noticed a flash of white light in the alley he was passing. He went in to investigate and saw an unconscious Samantha on the ground. In a flash, Thomas rushed over to the redhead's side and sat her up against the wall. In moments, Samantha stirred and opened her eyes.

"You're back!" Thomas joyfully spoke as tears came to the corners of his eyes.

"What the… how did I get here?" Samantha asked.

"I guess Astral brought you back with the Numeron Code like he said he would." Thomas assumed.

"So… I guess that means I'm human now, huh?" Samantha deduced.

"Looks that way." Thomas replied. "Samantha, I… I know how things ended between us in our past lives, but… maybe now we can have a fresh start. I still love you, Samantha."

"…Ah, hell. I guess I'm still in love with you too." Samantha responded. "Looks like I'll never be rid of the stupid village girl that I used to be."

"You weren't the one who was stupid back then. I was." Thomas told her.

With that, their lips eventually met in a deep kiss.

* * *

It was the start of another ordinary day at Heartland Academy. Only a week had gone by since the end of the Millennium Tournament. Yuma sat down at his normal desk in the classroom, and as the bell rang Kotori rushed in and took her normal seat next to him.

"Hey. It's not everyday that you're almost late for class." Yuma remarked.

"Yeah, I was talking with Chitose out in the hall." Kotori revealed. "She was telling me how Shark and the others just finished getting her into her new apartment."

"That's great. I'm glad to hear that she's settling in." Yuma replied.

"Chitose also told me that she heard back from Samantha last night." Kotori added. "She and Thomas landed safely in the city where his next tournament is going to be. Guess Samantha and Thomas are doing okay so far."

"Yeah. I just wish we knew what happened to Alnia." Yuma told her. "It's kinda weird how she seemed to just disappear while Chitose and Samantha came back. Chitose hasn't heard anything from Alnia, has she?"

"Not so far. But I'm sure she'll turn up." Kotori assured him. "I guess after the way that the tournament ended, I'm a little more worried about that monster Zorc coming back, or something like him or Don Thousand showing up again."

"Don't worry." Yuma told her as he took her hand. "I kinda doubt that Zorc will ever show up again. But if he or someone else does show up to cause problems, I'll be there to stop 'em!"

MILLENIUM TOURNAMENT – END

* * *

 **Afterward:** Well, that finally brings an end to The Millennium Tournament and the Devil Numbers Trilogy. I never imagined that this story would take me over a year to finish. It was fun to write, but also exhausting. Writing a Yu-Gi-Oh! fanfic with nearly back-to-back duels like this can be kind of exhausting, and this story was no exception because some of Yuma's duels ended up being the most difficult to write. There were times when I even got burnt out on this story and walked away from it to do other projects. But I'm happy to have finally finished this story, and I hoped that everyone enjoyed reading it.

I do plan to do at least two more ZEXAL fanfics in the future. The next one that I have planned is going to focus on Chitose and Alit. For the immediate future though, I plan to take a break from doing Yu-Gi-Oh! stories and work on some other projects that I've been neglecting for far too long. So until next time, please leave some reviews and let me know what you think.


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